Stay With Me
by Upsgirl88
Summary: After everything they've been through how could they just settle down and try to lead a normal life? When the group move into the Alexandria Safe Zone Carol and Daryl both struggle to deal with such a vast change in lifestyle. Will settling down finally give them the chance to explore their feelings for one another?
1. Chapter 1

Carol was still skeptical. She wasn't alone, pretty much the entire group was weary of their newfound safe haven. It seemed too good to be true and they were all on edge, waiting for the other shoe to drop and the brutality they'd been facing for years to show up yet again.

Rick had his guard up, Daryl too and even after everything that had happened she trusted them both completely. Daryl first and foremost, but Rick had protected the group for a long time. Even though she didn't always agree with his decisions, she knew his first priority was keeping his family safe. Of course his kids were put before anyone else, as they should be, but the rest of the group, Carol included, were his family.

Carol was holding the youngest member of the Grimes family in her arms, taking comfort in her innocence. It always felt good to hold Judith and dream of a life where people were safe and raised their babies - a place where people were happy.

As they stood in the middle of a street, surrounded by houses making up a subdivision of sorts, part of a community, almost a town really, Carol wanted to believe this place could give them a chance to settle and live a life where Judith could grow up and have a chance at normalcy, whatever that looked like anymore. But as her eyes drifted from one face to the next she saw the same insecurities she felt inside. Rick looked hard and fierce, asking all the right questions and obviously doubting the answers. Maggie stuck close to Glenn, listening to what was being said. Carol could just barely see a glimmer of hope in her eyes, but it was shaded by distrust.

Abraham, the new guy that she had grown to admire almost instantly, had his usual poker face. He was hard to read most of the time, but Carol knew he was a straight shooter. And he questioned Rick, which was her favourite quality. Abe didn't just accept Rick's decisions, if he disagreed he spoke up. He was very similar to her in that respect. But also like her, Abe had developed a solid relationship with Rick. Carol knew he wasn't likely to admit it but Rick needed the two of them questioning him, ensuring he was indeed doing the right thing. The two of them made Rick a better leader.

The last face Carol looked at was Daryl. The one she trusted most. The one she could always count on to protect her at all costs. It wasn't as if she needed protection like she had in the past. But it was still nice to know he would always have her back, no matter what. And it was nice that she had been able to return the favour a time or two since they had been reunited.

Not many people could read Daryl. He always looked pissed off or confrontational, but Carol knew what was going on in his head. She could read him just as well as she could read her own emotions.

As Judith pinched her cheek and tried to grab her hair Carol watched Daryl's face. He was thinking all the same things she was: don't drop your guard, this place is too good to be true, and what if it's not? What if it's every bit as wonderful as it seems?

If they decided to stay and settle it was going to be the hardest for Daryl, she knew that. It took him a long time to trust and he was not much of a people person. Daryl had really been starting to fit in well with the new people from Woodbury back at the prison when things spiralled out of control. Carol had no doubt it could be that way again for him but after so much, all the bad people they had met, all the evil they had encountered... Would he even want to try? She knew Daryl was very content with the group they had. He wouldn't likely be open to letting new people in or meshing with a new crowd - at least not for a while. And for once Carol was inclined to agree with his ways.

She tried to focus on what they were being told. One by one they were to meet with a man named Douglas. Rick would go first and decide if they were going to stay for sure. They had agreed as a group to give it a try when they were approached by the man who had been scouting them for weeks. They also agreed that they would trust Rick's instinct once they were inside to make the ultimate decision.

Carol didn't care one way or the other. All she wanted was to be with her family. If it was there in a safe place where they could build a future she would be thrilled. If it was back out on the road searching for safety and security while surviving the horrors that were out there, that was okay too. As long as they were together. The one thing she knew was that she never wanted to be away from any of them again - especially Daryl.

It was time for Rick to go meet Douglas and he was led off by a pleasant young man. A couple other men took the rest of them on a tour of the little town. Carol wandered up beside Daryl and immediately Judith reached for him. Carol smiled as he easily lifted the baby from her arms and tucked her into his own.

Judith was a lucky little girl. She had a dad and bother who adored her, but she also had an extended family that loved her like their own. Carol, Daryl, Tyreese, Maggie and Glenn were most often the ones who stepped up when Rick needed a hand with the baby. But Judith had taken a liking to both Tara and Abraham. Carol loved watching the large red headed man, who was usually so stone faced, cooing and tickling Judy. It was almost as fascinating as watching Daryl go from redneck warrior to silly Uncle D like he was right then with the baby in his arms.

When they stopped he lifted her above his head and tossed her up, catching her as she giggled. He did it a couple more times and Carol watched the easy smile spread across his face every time he made Judith laugh.

She tried to listen to what the guide was saying but Carol didn't want to hear all the amazing things this place held until she knew they were staying. A few things caught her attention like the fact that the kids went to school and there was an infirmary with a doctor. But the one thing that grabbed her was when they stopped in front of three empty houses and were told they were their new homes.

Before she allowed herself to get excited about the possibility of living in a real house she waited for Rick to return. As he rejoined the group he gave them a nod. "We're going to stay," he announced. "Douglas wants to meet one more person today, then he'll start seeing others tomorrow. Sasha? You ready?" Sasha nodded and was led off.

"These are our houses, so we need to decide who is staying where," Rick said.

It was pretty easy to divide them up. Rosita, Abe and Eugene stayed in one house along with Tyreese and Sasha. Rick, Carl, Michonne and Judith took another house. And the last house was shared between Glenn, Maggie, her and Daryl.

Carol was glad Rick had been smart enough to put her and Daryl in the same house. He had to know by that point that Daryl didn't let her too far out of his sight anymore. The banishment was one thing, but when she's been hit by a car and taken away Daryl lost his mind. He was almost clingy for a couple weeks after he got her back. It was actually kind of sweet but it made her claustrophobic at times and Carol worried it was dangerous for him to be so focused on her. Eventually they had a chat and he backed off a bit.

Before they separated Carol saw Abe whisper something privately to Rick. Shortly after that Rick approached Daryl to take Judith and whispered something to him. Daryl have her a look that told her he would explain soon and they wandered off with Glenn and Maggie to check out their new home.

As soon as they were inside Daryl scoped out the entire house with Glenn while Carol and Maggie stood awkwardly in the kitchen. "I could cook..." Carol mumbled, eyeing the stove.

"There's running water," Maggie said, turning on the kitchen tap. "We can shower..."

They looked at each other, both fighting the urge to get excited, but failing miserably. Maggie started to smile and Carol felt herself following suit. Before they got too deep into their giddy state the boys returned.

"Soon as it gets dark we're all sneaking to Rick's," Daryl informed them. "Stay under one roof for the night, make sure they ain't gonna pull any shit." Carol nodded, it made sense. "Three rooms upstairs. We can figure out which is whose once we know we're actually gonna stay here I guess."

"But we can shower while we're waiting, right?" Maggie asked, her eyes bright.

"Don't see why not," Daryl mumbled.

"Come on Glenn," she said, grabbing his arm and pulling him out of the kitchen.

"Don't waste too much water," Daryl called after them. Carol laughed. "What? You know exactly what's gonna happen in that shower," he grumbled.

Carol did know exactly what was going to happen and she felt a pang of jealousy. She looked at Daryl and let her mind wander to what it would be like to climb into a steaming shower with him. "Ya know, we could shower together too... Save water..." She teased him.

Daryl blushed, snorted something and wandered out to the living room. Carol rolled her eyes. She wasn't sure how much more prodding the man needed to see how she felt about him. She was pretty sure Daryl felt the same way about her, if he would open himself up to those feelings. She wondered if he even understood what it was like to be in love with someone.

They waited their turn to shower and Carol went first. It felt amazing and she had to force herself to shut off the taps and not stay there under the warm spray until the hot water ran out. Clean clothes would have been nice, but at least her hair and skin were clean for the first time in a very, very long time.

By the time Daryl had showered too, it was getting dark out. Carol couldn't help but stare at him when he came back downstairs. The clothes were the same but his bare arms and face were no longer covered with dirt and blood. And his hair hung in damp whisps, fresh and clean. Carol knew when it dried it would be soft and silky and she would have to fight the desire to touch it. Or just touch it and tease the shit out of him.

"Ready?" he asked them. They all nodded in response, gathered their things and wordlessly slipped out the door.

By the time they arrived at Rick's place Abraham's group was already there. Everyone stood around the living room chatting quietly. "Probably should try to get some sleep," Rick announced. "There are 4 bedrooms and the living room. Spread out and rest up."

Carol decide to take a small bedroom at the top of the stairs. It likely belonged to a child at one time, judging by the juvenile decor and the single bed. She threw her backpack in the corner, kicked off her boots and climbed into the bed, fully clothed. It was going to take a long time before she was comfortable enough to change before bed. They had always needed to be ready to spring into action. A skimpy nightie... Or less... Wouldn't be ideal to fight off walkers.

Carol was tired and fell asleep almost instantly in the comfortable bed with blankets and a pillow. Something woke her a short time later and she sat up in bed, reaching for her knife, only to realize it was Daryl. "What's wrong?" she whispered, assuming there had to be a problem for him to be in her room.

"Oh, uh... Nothing," he stammered, shuffling his feet and looking embarrassed. "It's crowded in the living room and... Well I ain't spent a night that far from you in a while..." Daryl muttered something she couldn't make out. "Fuck, sorry, I'll just go sleep in the hall."

"Daryl, wait," she called out before he could leave. "Don't go... Stay with me." She met his eyes in the dark and waited for his decision, her heart beating wildly anticipating his response. Daryl reached for the door, then stopped. What's it gonna be? Carol wondered, holding her breath.


	2. Chapter 2

Daryl pushed the door closed with a click and Carol felt a sense of relief she wasn't expecting. He was going to stay. Carol realized that if any of the group knew they were sharing a room it would start the rumors flying once again. Just like the morning they woke up accidentally spooning, with Glenn grinning down at them. Carol thought Daryl was going to kill Glenn when the buzz about them being a couple was on everyone's lips. But good ole Daryl set most of them straight while Carol chose instead to let them believe what they wanted.

Living in such a close group you saw things, likely before the people involved even realized it themselves. Carol had a feeling that others saw in her and Daryl the same thing she saw when she observed Rick and Michonne. If Rick was ever confronted about his feelings he was likely to pass them off as simply keeping Michonne close for Carl's benefit. Rick's son adored her and they had become very close. But Carol saw the way he looked at Michonne when she didn't know he was watching. He was battling with the guilt of falling in love after losing his wife so tragically. Michonne was harder to read, but if you watched her long enough she let her guard down eventually, you just had to be watching at the right time. There was no doubt in Carol's mind that the two of them had deep feelings for one another.

Carol hoped that's what people saw when they looked at her and Daryl. Whether or not they ever became a real couple there was a deep bond between them that couldn't be denied.

Daryl was gazing around the room, trying to find a spot to lie down. Carol wondered if she should just offer for him to share the bed. They had slept side by side on the ground almost every night for weeks. But she worried he would bolt if she suggested it, so instead she offered the pillow, "here, I have the bed, the least I can do is give you a pillow." She tossed it to him.

"You sure? I don't really need it, I'm pretty used to sleeping without one now," he replied, offering it back.

"Take it," Carol insisted. "We might have to get used to having pillows, blankets and beds soon."

Daryl pushed a few things aside and threw the pillow into the corner of the room. "Thanks. Night," he said, lying down.

"Welcome," Carol whispered, rolling over and attempting to go back to sleep. Daryl was snoring softly across the room only minutes later, but Carol was still restless. She had fallen asleep so easily earlier and it bothered her. The bed was so comfortable, she was terrified she would fall into a deep sleep and not wake if danger approached. Carol knew it was stupid. The living room was full of people who would alert the rest of them at any sign of danger. And she knew Daryl was a light sleeper, even though he fell asleep quickly. But she couldn't shake the fear of being anything less than 100% prepared to deal with an attack.

Carol grabbed the blanket and got out of bed. She crossed the room to where Daryl was sleeping and lay down beside him, covering them both with the blanket. He woke immediately and reached for his weapon, like she had earlier. "It's just me," Carol said, patting his arm gently.

"What are you doing?" he asked groggily.

"Can't sleep in a bed, not yet," Carol sighed. "Makes me feel... unprepared." One of the things she loved most about Daryl was that he always understood and didn't question her. He simply scooted over to give her more room and pushed more of the pillow in her direction, so they could share. Carol rolled her back to his, claiming part of the pillow. Finally, her mind eased and she could sleep.

When they woke the next morning and nothing had happened during the night Carol felt like an idiot for wasting the comfortable bed. She could have suggested Daryl take it, but he seemed content with her lying beside him like they always had. Carol wondered if that was subconsciously part of her decision to go lay on the floor, but she pushed the thought away and sat up. "So, you wanna try and sneak out of here first? Or are we just gonna take all the ribbing we're gonna get?" Carol asked him with an easy smile.

"Hmmf," he grumbled, looking up at her. "They start that shit and I'll shut their mouths quick." Carol shook her head and continued to smile at him. "What's got into you?"

"No one attacked us during the night… Maybe tonight we can stay in our own house," Carol shrugged. "I'm trying not to get too excited, but there's so much potential here…"

"Yeah, well I'm not buying it, not yet," Daryl said, sitting up beside her. "I got a bad feeling. Ain't ready to let down my guard any time soon."

"I know, I feel the same way… but when I see that house… and know that it's our house, with our own rooms and our own kitchen, and a shower… toilet…" Carol stopped suddenly, feeling a sense of panic. "It's all too much, isn't it?"

"I hope not," Daryl said gently. "But just don't give in yet, promise me that okay?"

"I promise," Carol agreed, knowing in her heart that Daryl was right. She got to her feet and offered a hand, pulling Daryl to his. "Let's go see what Rick has planned." Carol would be ready to question anything she didn't agree with, but she had a feeling Rick and her were on the same page this time.

Just as they entered the living room there was a knock at the door. It worked out well because it distracted the others from the fact that her and Daryl had appeared together, from the same general direction. Rick opened the door and an older man was standing there. "Ah, you all stayed in one house, smart."

Rick quickly introduced the rest of the group to Douglas, the leader of the community they would all meet over the course of the day. "Michonne, your turn," Rick said, sending her off with the man. A woman showed up moments later and offered them food. The group was a bit wary about eating food prepared by others after their experience at Terminus, but the food she brought was all packaged – granola bars, little containers of apple sauce, snack packs of cookies and juice boxes.

It was food they hadn't eaten in a long, long time and they all attacked the offerings thankfully and hungrily. By the time they had finished eating, setting a few things aside for Michonne, she had returned. "He said to send someone else…"

Before Michonne finished speaking Daryl was heading for the door. "I'll go. Wanna get this bullshit out of the way," he growled, in his usual charming way.

"Hey, Daryl," Rick called after him. "Easy, okay? He's not a bad guy, you'll see."

Carol eyed Rick, Michonne and Sasha as the door shut behind Daryl. "He does seem legit," Sasha spoke up.

Michonne echoed her sentiment, "I think so too. I didn't want to trust him, but he gave me no bad vibes or any reason not to…"

Carol listened as the three of them explained the process. Douglas asks some questions, gets to know them a bit, learns about their skills and then he determines their place in the community. So far they had all agreed with what he offered them. Rick would be the community peace keeper, basically a police officer to take care of any conflicts within the community. Michonne would be part of the team that went on runs, but also Rick's second in command when she wasn't away. Sasha was on the construction crew that was working on expanding the community.

"Can I go next, when Daryl returns?" Carol asked. She felt a lot like Daryl did, she just wanted to get it over with. Rick nodded and she went to the window to watch for him. When she saw Daryl making his way towards the house she took off out the door to meet him. "What did you think?" she asked quietly, in case people were listening.

"You'll like him," Daryl said. "Seems like a good guy… but I'm sure the Governor seemed like a good guy too. He's a politician," Daryl grunted. "You can like em, but never trust em."

Carol smiled at Daryl's wisdom. She trusted his intuition as much as she trusted her own. "What's your job," she asked, as she started to walk away.

"Whatever I want," Daryl said with a grin. "Wherever I'm needed really, but he spun a nice little web that made me feel like I have a choice, whether I do or not." His face got serious, "guard up, 'kay?"

She nodded and headed off to find the house Rick had went into the day before. Carol passed a couple kids playing and forced herself not to think about Sophia, but she couldn't help it. If only her baby girl had survived or they had found a place like this before she died… Carol took a deep breath as she spotted the house and made her way to the door.

Douglas pulled it open as she approached and ushered her in. "Carol, right?" She nodded, pleased he'd remembered her even though he'd been introduced to the entire group at once. "You and Daryl…" he asked, obviously curious if they were together.

"Friends," Carol responded quickly. Douglas gave her a knowing look, indicating he didn't believe that for a second. He was perceptive, Carol would give him that.

"He mentioned you," Douglas said, leading her into his office. "The look on his face… I just assumed." He pulled out a chair for her and pushed it in as she sat. Carol wasn't used to such courtesies anymore, or ever really.

"Yeah, you and everyone else," she muttered under her breath, eliciting a smile when he heard her.

The process didn't take long at all, he asked a few questions about her past and what she did before the ZA and then talked about some of the new skills she'd acquired since. Carol told him about teaching the kids back at the prison. She was upfront and honest that she believed even the children should know how to protect themselves. Douglas agreed with her, but didn't offer to let her teach them survival skills. He did offer her a job working with the current teacher though and Carol accepted. She knew she could have mentioned other things such as her incredible skills with a rifle, especially from long distances. She was an amazing shot now that she was comfortable with any gun that was put in her hand. Daryl had helped her a lot and she was pretty sure she could match him shot for shot and may even been a bit better from farther away from their target. Carol also learned a lot from Hershel and knew she could help out in the infirmary too.

If she had a choice she would have loved to spend some time in the bell tower, where she saw a man with a rifle camped out the day before, in the afternoon, when they were taken to their new homes. As he was walking her to the door Carol peered out the window and noticed there was no one standing guard in the tower. "Why is no one up there?" she asked, thinking perhaps they remained hidden at times, which made perfect sense.

"We only have one sharpshooter," Douglas explained. "He takes the night shift and sleeps during the day."

Carol felt excitement building inside her. "I can do that," she said, turning away from the window to face him. "Daryl could too. But I want to do it. I'm a great shot. Ask Rick and the others, they'll tell you."

"Let me talk to Rick later, okay? And get through meeting the others…" he smiled at her. "I'm not saying no, just give me til this evening and I'll let you know at the party."

"Party?" Carol asked wondering if she had heard correctly.

"Yes, we're planning a little get together for the whole town, about 50 of us now," Douglas explained. "Good chance for your group to get acquainted with the others."

"Oh… I guess…" Carol said, somewhat mystified. She had all but given up on doing normal things, like going to parties and celebrating holidays.

"There's a shop beside the infirmary where we keep all the clothes we've gathered. A lot of brand new stuff, dresses, blouses, jeans, a bit of everything." Carol listened, very interested in the idea of clean clothes. "Take some of your group and go pick out new clothes and something special for tonight," Douglas said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Then send a few more until everyone has had a chance to pick out clothes." Carol had no idea what to say. She was absolutely reeling from how different things would be in this new place. "Can you send me Glenn next? I've heard he's your go-to guy for supply runs, I'd like to meet him."

"Yeah of course," Carol got out, finding her voice again.

Douglas lifted her hand to his lips and kissed it. "It was a pleasure to meet you Carol," he said. It sounded sincere.

Fuck, she thought as she headed down the street to find Glenn, I like him.

Once Carol had sent Glenn off to meet the man in charge she found Daryl in the living room, cleaning his crossbow. "Come on Dixon," she said, lifting the weapon out of his hand. "We have some shopping to do."

"What?" he replied, eyeing her in confusion.

"I was told to take a couple people to the clothing store. Abe, Rosita, you guys come too," Carol said, inviting the only others currently in the room. "There's a party tonight. We have to get cleaned up," she smiled at the look of excitement on Rosita's face and the awful scowl on both men's. "Suck it up boys, you both stink, even after your showers. Time for some new duds."

"Ain't nothing wrong with what I got on," Daryl said defiantly. Carol gave him a look and he followed the three of them out the door, grumbling the entire way to the shop. "I don't want to go to no stupid party," he said, coming up beside her.

"Rumour has it there will be alcohol…" Carol said, shooting him a sideways smile, forgetting that the last time Daryl had been drinking was quite a dark time. Thankfully it didn't seem to trigger anything for him, he'd likely buried it after Beth stayed behind back in Atlanta. Things truly had turned out well for her and Carol was proud of the way she'd stepped up and found a purpose in the crazy world they lived in. The youngest Greene surprised her, but Carol realized it was a whole lot of Beth's daddy shining through.

"Alcohol," Daryl repeated. "Hmm," he said, wandering towards a rack of men's clothing and starting his search.

Carol found herself looking even more forward to the evening, knowing Daryl would attend without having to be dragged kicking and screaming. She smiled and started to hunt for the perfect outfit…


	3. Chapter 3

Carol was very pleased with her choices as they exited the clothing boutique and headed for their new home. Rick had told Daryl and the others to go ahead and make themselves comfortable in their houses.

Carol wasn't sure if the whole town was legit, but she had a good feeling about Douglas, even if he was a politician. "What are you thinking?" she asked Daryl as they wandered the streets towards their place.

"I just can't shake this feeling inside that something ain't right," Daryl said.

"With Douglas?" Carol asked, giving him a sideways glance.

"Nah, I don't trust him yet, but I think he might be a decent guy," Daryl said. "Decent leader, at least," he added. "This place has lasted a while, someone has to be keeping it going."

Carol was glad they had a similar instinct about Douglas. They usually did agree on most things though. It really threw her for a loop when they didn't. But he still hadn't explained what felt off, "Then what's your feeling about?"

Daryl shrugged. "Maybe it's just a bit too normal here," he said. "Kids running around playing, going to school, shopping for clothes, parties..." Carol flushed with excitement when he mentioned the party and Daryl looked at her. "I know you're excited, and I get it... But remember, you promised not to let your guard down."

"I know, I won't. I'll cautiously enjoy myself." Carol smiled at the scowl on his face. She knew he was going to hate everything about the evening with the exception of the booze. "But you have to promise me that you'll go easy on the southern comfort this time okay?" Carol thought back to the CDC and how much he'd drank. It didn't seem like an issue in the security of the building, but the next day when the system was set to self-destruct and they were fleeing for their lives... If that happened when Daryl, Rick, Glenn and others were half wasted they never would have survived.

"Just gonna get enough of a buzz to survive the damn party," Daryl muttered. "I drink too much and I get mean," he added. Carol could see he was reliving a dark moment.

"Don't do that," Carol interrupted his brooding. "It's over. We're all together again. Beth's safe and happy," she added, knowing Daryl had a hard time leaving Beth behind. In all honesty she had a really hard time with it as well - they all did. But Beth felt like she was doing the right thing staying with a group of people who were trying to restart society - cops, doctors, religious figures, scientists. Beth believed her father would have stayed with the group had he survived and it was a way for her to make him proud. It was also a way for her to step up, but in a controlled environment where she was protected. Beth believed if she went back out on the road she wouldn't survive very long. The Greater Good gave her the chance to shine and the possibility of a family and a future someday - the things she had dreamed of. Carol knew it was the right decision.

"You're right," he said, giving her a tiny smile. It was about the extent of his happy look and Carol knew it was incredibly rare for others to get even the half smile Daryl often gave her. So when he did that shy little grin, even if only for a second, it felt like the biggest, brightest smile she had ever seen.

They arrived at the house and Daryl led her upstairs to the bedrooms. "Glenn claimed this one already," he explained, kicking his toe softly at a closed door. "Only one with a king bed," Daryl added. He led her down the hall, "you can take this one, it's got a double... Queen maybe... And I'll take the kid's room, just a single."

"No, wait," Carol interrupted, before Daryl could enter the bedroom. "You take the bigger bed," she said, brushing past him. "You're taller. Kid's bed is probably way too small, your legs will hang over." Before he could argue Carol was already opening the door and heading into the room. "Gonna change into some clean clothes but wait to shower before the party," she explained, smiling at him and shutting the door.

Carol knew he didn't care about his legs hanging off the bed or the fact he would be sleeping in a room that had obviously belonged to a child. He likely chose the room more because he worried it would make her think of Sophia than anything to do with the beds. But she wasn't honest with him either. The real reason she gave him the bigger bed was because she didn't have any plans to start sleeping in hers anytime soon. No sense in wasting a large comfortable bed when he could be using it. Carol knew it was irrational but there was just something not right about getting in the bed and sleeping, stretched out alone in the middle of a huge comfortable mattress. It was still too... Normal.

The rest of the day passed fairly quickly, though Carol expected it to drag on. When Maggie and Glenn returned they sat in the living room and discussed their meetings with Douglas. Glenn would be a full time member of the scavenger team, going on supply runs. Maggie would be assisting the doctor and learning from her so they would eventually have two experienced medical workers in the settlement. Carol knew Maggie wasn't thrilled about Glenn being a part of the most dangerous team there and not being able to go with him, but she would come around eventually. Carol agreed with the positions Douglas had bestowed upon them.

Carol, Maggie and Glenn spent some time making things comfortable in the house, while Daryl, wanting no part of the domestication, went to talk to Rick and Michonne. As evening approached Daryl returned, grumbling already about having to get dressed up for the party. Carol ignored him and took off with Maggie to get ready. They had showered earlier, but still had to do their hair and put on their new dresses. The boutique actually had makeup and Maggie had grabbed a few things when she took her turn.

It felt so strange to act like such a girl. Even before the apocalypse Carol had never owned nice clothes or expensive make up. She was actually terrified to look in the mirror once her dress was on, hair was finished and Maggie was done applying a bit of makeup.

"Oh my God, Carol, you look so... Beautiful..." Maggie gushed. Carol saw a tear in her friend's eye. Maggie looked like a model in the glittery black dress she was wearing. Glenn was going to faint when he saw her.

Slowly Carol approached the mirror and took a peek. "Oh, wow..." she gasped in awe at the woman staring back at her. The make-up made her eyes pop, the blue even more startling than usual. Her hair was spiked up a bit, with wispy curls around her ears and neck. And the dress looked like it was made for her. It was blue, very similar to the color of her eyes. It had long sleeves but the material was sheer and see-through until the area that covered her breasts. She couldn't wear a bra or you would see it, but the dress was built for that and perfectly supported her boobs. Carol would have preferred a more modest length to the dress, it cut several inches above the knee, but there weren't many in her size to choose from. She took a deep breath and turned back to Maggie with a smile. "You ready for this?"

Maggie nodded and stepped closer for a hug. "We deserve to be happy, even if it's only for a few hours," Maggie whispered to her.

Carol drew back and nodded, then grabbed Maggie's hand and headed for the living room where the guys had likely been waiting for at least half an hour. When they entered the living room Glenn and Daryl looked up, staring at them. "Holy shit, you two look… fuck… you look incredible," Glenn gushed, standing and coming over to hug them. He gave Carol a quick friendly hug and then wrapped Maggie in his arms, flattering her with even more comments like a man in love should. Daryl didn't say a word, but Carol caught him sneaking glances at her and saw the pink on his cheeks every time he did. It was enough for her. Just knowing that he noticed was all she needed.

Carol couldn't help sneaking a few glances at Daryl too. He had on a new pair of jeans, nothing exciting, but clean at least. It was the shirt that was distracting though. He was wearing a light grey cardigan that fit tight across his shoulders and chest, accentuating how broad and muscular he was. His hair was still long, but it was washed again and clean. Daryl had shaved as well and Carol was dying to touch his soft face. She had to, she couldn't resist. "Baby face," she teased him, rubbing his cheek with the back of her hand.

"Stop," Daryl scoffed, looking away shyly. Both the action and his reaction made her heart flutter. It was going to be a good night, Carol was sure of it. The four of them headed out to Douglas' house, where the party was being held. There were people heading there from all directions, and they joined up with a few others from their group, entering the party with Rick, Carl and Michonne.

It was awkward at first. Some of the others were very forward and came up to them for introductions, others seemed shy and hung back, and there were also some that glared or seemed unsure of the new arrivals. There was a spread of food out like they hadn't seen in years and most of them moved immediately to the snacks and the bar set up in the corner. Carol didn't intend to drink much, but once she finished her plate she did help herself to a glass of red wine.

People were mingling and the group had spread out. Carol spotted Daryl hanging close to the bar and she also spotted the two women who were trying to get his attention. Amused, she wandered closer with her glass of wine to observe. It seemed as though the brunette was trying to get Daryl to ask her to dance, chatting about the music, pointing out that others were dancing, trying to hint in any way she could. All she was getting were properly timed grunts from Daryl. Carol shook her head, she knew if you wanted Daryl to do something you had to come right out and ask him. He didn't get subtlety or read social cues well at all. Carol also knew even if the woman came right out and asked, the chances of her getting him on the dance floor were pretty much zero.

Carol's eavesdropping was interrupted briefly when Douglas approached with a woman on his arm. "Carol, lovely to see you," he opened, reaching for her hand and kissing it politely. "I want you to meet my wife Regina." Carol and the woman shook hands and chatted politely for a few minutes, before Regina mentioned that she hadn't met the man across the room yet, pointing to Abraham. As Douglas left he leaned in close and whispered, "come see me in the morning, I have news I think you'll like." He shot her a smile and left.

Carol was about to burst with excitement. She was going to get the sniper job, she was sure of it. Her excitement was interrupted by two separate events, occurring simultaneously. Carol looked over and caught Daryl's eye. He was pleading with her to save him from the woman that wouldn't stop talking and the other that was staring at him, waiting her turn. Just as Carol was about to make her way over to him, there was a commotion and she saw Glenn sprawl out onto the floor in a giggling heap, obviously completely wasted. After the CDC drinking binge she already knew Glenn was a bit of a lightweight, it wasn't all that surprising. She watched the scene play out from afar. Maggie helped him up and then Rick, playing the dutiful friend and sheriff offered to take him home to bed so Maggie could continue to enjoy the night. With that, they were out the door and the party resumed.

Carol made her way over to Daryl, interrupting the brunette. "Hi, I'm Carol," she said politely.

"Holly," the woman replied, in a more friendly tone than Carol was expecting. Maybe she isn't so bad, Carol thought.

It didn't stop her from doing something rather cruel, given the fact she knew Holly had been trying all night to get Daryl on the dance floor. "Daryl," she said sweetly. "Would you like to dance?"

The look on his face was priceless. Carol knew he had no desire to dance, but he wanted to be saved and it was the only way she could think of to get him away quickly. He gave her a look, but reached out and took the hand she was offering. "Nice to meet you," she said to Holly, leading Daryl to the dance floor.

"Oh relax, it won't be that bad. The song is almost over," Carol whispered to him.

"I don't know how to dance," Daryl muttered. She could smell the alcohol on his breath and wondered if he had indeed taken it slow like she requested.

"Just, put one hand on my back and the other here," Carol said, tucking the hand she was already holding in between them, then resting then other along his chest, with her fingers touching the bare skin of his neck. She felt the pressure as he placed his hand on the small of her back, as instructed. "Now just sway with me, I'll lead… just relax," she whispered in his ear. Carol started to move with the music, tucked in Daryl's arms and he easily followed her lead. "Liar," she said softly, not believing he didn't know how to dance.

"I ain't fucking lying, this is the first time I've ever danced," he replied in her ear.

"Hmm, well you learn quickly," Carol remarked.

"You're a good teacher," Daryl said gently. It was about the closest thing to a flirt she had ever heard come out of his mouth and for once she had no reply. Carol simply snuggled in close and enjoyed an intimate moment with a man she cared deeply for. Who would have ever thought only days ago that they would be dressed up, inside a house, dancing to music playing from a radio.

When the song ended Carol reluctantly released him. She was almost positive that he hesitated in letting her go as well, but she pushed the thought away. They spent the rest of the evening sticking close to each other and people they knew. Carol had a really good time and was sad when the night drew to a close and they headed home. Her and Maggie chatted excitedly the whole way back, while Daryl gave them annoyed looks every once in a while.

Carol was expecting Glenn to be passed out when they returned, but he was sitting on the couch waiting for them. He didn't seem the least bit drunk and Carol was confused. "What's going on? How are you sober already?"

"Rick asked him to check things out while everyone was at the party," Maggie explained, putting an arm around Glenn.

"Oh," Carol nodded in understanding. "Brilliant."

"What did you find?" Daryl asked, sinking down onto the couch.

"Not much," Glenn shrugged. "I know where they keep the weapons locked up, but Douglas already told Rick about the place I found." Glenn shook his head, "I think they've been completely honest with us about everything. I didn't find anything that seemed strange or out of place. And I checked everywhere except individual houses… well," Glenn grinned. "That's a lie, I even looked through a few of those until I saw people starting to leave the party and I snuck back here."

"Huh," Daryl grunted, lost in thought. Carol knew he was still struggling with trust issues and would be for a while. Daryl would be the last to come around. "Well I guess we sleep and start our jobs tomorrow," he said, getting off the couch and starting for the stairs.

"Night," Carol said to Maggie and Glenn, following Daryl up the stairs.

When they got to her door Daryl stopped. "You, uh… you looked.. uh.. nice tonight," he stammered, immediately turning red and crossing the hall to his own door.

"You too," Carol whispered after he had already entered his room and shut the door. She wasn't used to compliments or flirts coming from him and he caught her off guard yet again. Probably the alcohol, she thought, assuming the whiskey had loosened Daryl up at bit. She went in her room and undressed, then redressed with the clothes she was wearing earlier. Carol looked at the bed and her chest tightened. She felt like an idiot, but she grabbed the comforter and pillow and made herself a bed on the floor.

Before she even came close to falling asleep there was a light rap on her door and Carol quickly jumped up, crossing the room to sit on the edge of the bed. "Come in," she called out quietly. Daryl entered the room and spotted her sitting in bed. But his eyes wandered and Carol knew she was busted when they settled on the pillow and blanket set up on the floor.

"Thought so," he grumbled softly. Daryl walked to her bedside and reached out his hand, "Come on," he said, motioning for her to take his hand and stand up.

"What? Why? Where are we going?" Carol asked, not hesitating to put her hand in his, even though she had no idea why.

"You're gonna stay with me tonight," Daryl said, leading her towards the hallway. "You can stay one night... Two... Three... Whatever you need to get used to a bed again. Don't need to be sleeping on the floor now."

Carol followed him to his room, amazed at how perceptive he was where she was concerned, when he often couldn't read the most explicit of social cues from others. She almost giggled out loud thinking back to the brunette, Holly, that had tried for at least an hour to get Daryl to dance with her. As Carol climbed into bed beside him and immediately felt the knots in her stomach disappear she wondered if it actually had anything at all to do with the bed, and everything to do with the company.


	4. Chapter 4

When Carol woke the next morning Daryl's arm was slung over her and he was still snoring softly. Upon shifting slightly she could feel he was aroused, even through both their clothes. A warm current seeped through her body at the realization and Carol flushed.

She lay still and enjoyed the feel of him, while day dreaming about how much she would love to remove his pants and see him fully erect, touch his dick, stroke it... Carol had to force herself to stop. She was thoroughly turned on by that point with no way to relieve the build up. She seriously considered trying to work a hand inside her pants, touch herself, imagine it was Daryl touching her like she had so many lonely nights back at the prison, but they had already slept late and even the slightest movement would likely wake him.

Instead she took a few calming breaths and tried to think about something else. Carol focused on the news from the night before. Douglas had something to tell her, which likely meant she would be starting her first shift in the bell tower that very day. Her body responded with a different type of excitement. She was really looking forward to being an important part of the community if they were going to stay.

The distraction techniques were going well until Daryl stirred, pressing himself into her, reminding her again what was hiding under his clothing. To make matters worse his hand had moved as well and was full on cupping her breast. Carol actually had to fight off a giggle. Daryl would be absolutely mortified if he knew what he was doing.

Her mind started to wander again. Carol wished she could roll over, face him, hook her leg over his and grind against him, feeling his erection even closer to where she longed for him to put it. She wondered if Daryl ever thought of her the same way. If she wasn't in bed with him that very morning would he have woke up, reached for his dick and pictured her as he jerked off? Would he have thought about sliding into her wet pussy and fucking her until she screamed? It was too much, thinking about how much she desired Daryl. Carol couldn't resist pressing her ass back against him, rubbing against his stiff cock.

He woke instantly and Carol felt his hand release her breast and Daryl roll away from her. She bit her lip, holding back the laugh and pretended she was just waking up. Carol yawned and stretched, "Morning." She tried to make her voice sound as sleepy as possible. Carol rolled over and proppede herself up on one elbow, staring at Daryl's back. He was sitting up on the edge of the bed.

"Morning," he replied, not looking in her direction. "I gotta piss," he added, jumping from the bed and practically running out of the room. He wasn't fast enough for her to miss the sizable bulge in his pants. It's not like she had never seen him trying to hide a woody before. But generally they were just a budding stiffie, not a full blown erection.

Carol laid in bed wondering what exactly he was doing in the bathroom. When she heard the shower turn on she was almost positive he was beating off. Why the fuck not? she thought, undoing her pants. Got time. It had been years now since she had been with a man. Truth was, she preferred her vibrator to what Ed offered, or rather demanded. It wouldn't be like that with Daryl. He would touch her soft and shy at first... Carol slipped a hand inside her panties and touched herself the way she expected Daryl might. By that point she was so horny she could have moved straight to her clit and been done in seconds. Instead she took it slow, teasing herself, prolonging it, imagining it was Daryl's fingers slipping inside her, feeling her wet with desire for him. Carol held back a moan as she lifted her hips, pushing her fingers deeper inside. Oh God Daryl, she screamed in her mind. Carol reached for a nipple with her free hand, slipping the other out and moving her slick fingers to her clit. Rubbing small circles with her wet fingers caused the build up to begin. She pinched and rubbed her erect nipple, while increasing speed and pressure on the swollen nub between her legs. With a sudden jerk and blinding flash of white Carol reached her peak. Heat flooded to her core as she rode the wave, wishing Daryl was there so she could cling to him while she did.

Carol had barely done up her pants when Daryl came back into the room. "Shower's all yours," he announced. "Maggie and Glenn are gone. Thought I would go see what I can find us for breakfast."

"Sounds good," Carol nodded, watching him leave before getting out of bed and heading to the bathroom. After she showered and redressed Carol went down to the kitchen to find Daryl with an open jar of applesauce and a spoon.

"Saved you half," he mumbled, shoving one last spoonful in his mouth and handing her the jar. "And there's a biscuit for you too," Daryl said, pointing at the table.

"A what? Did you say biscuit?" she asked, staring at the fluffy dumpling in disbelief.

"Yup, there's a lady who bakes stuff from scratch," Daryl said, poking the last of his biscuit in his mouth. "We missed out on peach muffins by sleeping in," he added with scowl.

"But how? Eggs? Milk? Fruit?" Carol muttered, taking a bite of applesauce. It was no longer weird to share utensils with him, or anyone in the group really. They rarely had forks or spoons anymore anyway.

"They got chickens here and a couple goats," Daryl explained. "Not sure 'bout the fruit though - maybe some preserves or something?"

Carol stared at the biscuit, something she never expected to eat again. She loved fluffy homemade buttermilk biscuits. This would be the closest thing she had tasted to that since the whole apocalypse started. When she finally got the nerve to take her first nibble, she groaned at how delicious it tasted. Carol savoured every bite and it wasn't until she finished that she noticed Daryl studying her with pink cheeks. Maybe she had enjoyed the biscuit a little too much.

"Thank you, that was delicious," Carol said, giving him a flirty smile. She wandered over and bumped him gently with her shoulder. "Let's try to avoid sleeping in tomorrow and see what kind of goodies the early birds get." Daryl nodded as the pink started to slowly fade from his cheeks. "I have to go meet Douglas to find out about the sniper job," Carol said, unable to hide the grin.

Daryl shifted his crossbow to the other shoulder, "If he's smart he'll get you up in that tower."

"Thanks," Carol replied, starting for the door. "See you later?"

Daryl nodded again and followed her out the door, giving her a little wave as he headed in the opposite direction. Carol approached Douglas' house as Regina was exiting. "Go ahead in," she said coldly. "He's expecting you." Carol thanked her politely, wondering what was up with Regina's icy attitude.

"Carol," Douglas greeted her enthusiastically, lifting her hand to his lips once again. "It's good to see you. Did you enjoy yourself last night?"

"I did," Carol replied with a genuine smile. "It was a wonderful evening."

"Great," Douglas nodded. "I'm glad." He wandered closer. "So I'm sure you're anticipating my answer…" She nodded eagerly. "I spoke with Rick and a few others and your skills are highly regarded." Carol felt her heart pounding in her chest. "So if you would like the day shift as our sniper it's yours."

"Yes," Carol said, trying to remain professional and dignified, when all she really wanted to do was flail excitedly.

"I'll have Aaron take you to the armoury to pick out the rifle of your choice," Douglas said, moving even closer. "He should be here in a minute or two." Carol didn't like how close he was, in her space, it was uncomfortable and she hoped Aaron would arrive soon. "Listen, I'm not a fool, I know you have feelings for archer boy, but since you're adamant that you're only friends, that suggests you're single." Carol wasn't sure where he was going with the line of questioning, but she nodded in response. "Must be lonely sometimes, aren't you?"

"I… uh… I'm not comfortable answering these questions," Carol replied, taking a step back. She had a feeling she knew why Regina seemed so cold on the way out.

"I just thought maybe you and I could… meet up later tonight, after your shift?" Douglas said, touching her cheek.

Carol stepped back again, feeling anger boiling inside her. "What about Regina? You know, your wife?"

"She doesn't mind if I stray once in a while," Douglas shrugged. "Been like that for years, even before this all started."

"I'm not interested," Carol said firmly. She felt dirty even being a part of such a conversation.

"Well if you change your mind, you know where to find me," he smiled at her and Carol wanted to slap it off his smug face. "You're a beautiful woman Carol. A mature woman. You have needs… and I can satisfy those needs."

He was still pushing and Carol felt bile rising in her throat. "Just stop," she said forcefully. "I said I'm not interested."

"It might push your Romeo to finally make his move if he finds out you're getting pleasure elsewhere," Douglas gave one last try. He really was good at mind games. He knew exactly where to hit her for the best chance of her giving in.

But he didn't know the strength she had over even her greatest weak spot. "My relationship with Daryl is none of your concern," Carol said calmly. She was amazed at her own reserve. "I will wait for Aaron outside and start my shift in the tower as soon as I have my gun." Carol extended her hand formally and he shook it. "Thank you for the opportunity, you won't regret it."

Carol spun on her heel and left the house. She spotted Aaron right away and hurried to meet him. "I'm told you're gonna lead me to my new weapon?"

Aaron was polite and friendly. Carol took a liking to him right away. He showed her all the options and pointed out his personal favorites. He also showed her which guns they had the most ammunition for and which were running low on bullets. Carol had a gun she loved, but lost it when she was taken by the Greater Good group. In the strange turn of events that occurred surrounding the group she never recovered the precious gun. There was one that was very similar and Carol chose it, hoping it would feel comfortable right away. She knew it didn't really matter which gun she selected. She just had a knack for hitting her target with whatever weapon she used.

Aaron gave her the gun and ammo and walked with Carol to the Bell tower outside the main gates. She would be safe in the tower, though it felt strange to be locked out of the settlement while on duty. It wasn't any different than people leaving on runs or those on the expansion team like Abraham, but Carol had gotten used to wandering the streets and not keeping her weapon close or drawn at all times. She was on the outside again though and on high alert.

Aaron said his goodbyes and Carol got set up to keep watch. It was a pretty quiet day for the most part. Carol knew she wasn't to shoot unless there was life threatening danger because the gun shot would draw walkers. She got comfortable and scanned the area through the scope on her weapon. Carol felt a bit like a voyeur as she aimed towards the settlement. The scope was precise and she could practically look into the windows of houses if she wanted to.

Several hours into her shift she noticed activity at the gate and saw Daryl exit and someone lock up behind him. He was making his way to the tower and Carol smiled. She unlocked the door so he could let himself in. "Brought you some water," he said, handing her a bottle. "And a… rice crispy treat. Not homemade this time though, sorry."

"Thanks," Carol replied, taking them both. She was starving and ate the marshmallow square quickly. They got used to rationing and not having much food around, so the small snack would tide her over for a while. "You sticking around for a bit?"

"Yeah, I can… I'm kinda bored," he admitted. "I think I'm going on a run tomorrow, but there's not much for me to do today."

Carol wondered if she should tell Daryl what happened with Douglas. She needed to talk about it, to get it off her chest, but was Daryl the right person? Carol wasn't sure exactly how angrily he would react to the news. And maybe it wasn't the right time. It was really bothering her though. She opened her mouth to speak, but something caught her eye. There were 3 walkers approaching. They would have been an easy shot for her with the rifle, but there was no need to risk attracting more or wasting ammo. "Give me a hand?" she asked, nodding in the direction of the walkers. Daryl peeked out and unsheathed his knife when he saw what she was referring to.

Carol pulled out her knife as well and the two of them barrelled down the stairs. Within 30 seconds they had dropped all three and were wiping off their knives, heading back inside the tower. Carol knew the two of them made a great team, particularly because they had an easy way of communicating without words.

Daryl stayed a while longer and Carol opted not to mention Douglas yet. She would tell him before bed and just push the memories away until then. The rest of her shift was uneventful, yet Carol was never bored, even all alone. When her replacement arrived Carol headed back to the gate where someone was waiting to let her in.

Most of their group had gathered at Rick's for dinner and to talk about their day. Carol slipped in and listened to the excited conversation. It was so different from the things they used to talk about. It was odd because it was so…. Normal. Carol had been through a range of emotions and she found herself yawning, early in the evening. Rick and Glenn were getting out a deck of cards and a bunch of them were starting up a poker game. They asked Carol to play and she declined with another yawn. "Think I'll head back home and call it a night."

Glenn was already dealing out cards as she headed out the door alone. Before she got too far Daryl was on her heels. "Just making sure you're not gonna sleep on the floor," he whispered when he caught up. "Sides, I'm kinda tired too," he added.

"I'm glad you came," Carol said as they entered the house and headed up the stairs to his room. "There's something I wanted to tell you about…"

"What's wrong?" Daryl responded immediately. He had become very good at sensing when something was wrong if she let her guard down enough to show him.

Carol took a deep breath and faced him. "Douglas hit on me today," Carol said quickly. She had to just say it and get it out before she changed her mind. "It was awful, disgusting… I felt so dirty."

"Did he touch you," Daryl asked in a tone Carol had never heard from him before. There was a wild look in his eyes that was actually terrifying.

"No, no," Carol said, reaching out to put a calming hand on his forearm. "He just suggested that we… you know…" she looked away embarrassed.

"I'll fuckin kill him," Daryl seethed, starting to pace. Carol expected him to be upset, but not to be this angry. She had just wanted to talk about it, not upset him, but she should have known Daryl better than that.

"Daryl, stop. I'm fine," Carol said gently.

"What makes him think you would ever let him touch you?" Daryl hissed. "He's married and you're…" His voice trailed off and Carol knew he'd said more than he intended.

But she pushed. "I'm what?" Carol asked. "What am I Daryl?" There were so many things she hoped he would say: 'You're mine. You're taken. You're in love with someone else.'

Daryl hesitated long enough to come up with a different answer. "You're just not that kind of woman," he said, avoiding her eyes because he knew she would see right through him. Why won't you just fucking admit it? Carol wanted to scream. She knew he had feelings for her. And she knew he had to be the one to start things because if she pushed - he would run away like a scared puppy.

"We should get to bed," Daryl muttered, knowing the conversation was over for the time being.

"Yeah," Carol replied, trying to hide her frustration. Suddenly she had a thought. Carol knew she couldn't come right out and make a move on him, but there was something she could do. She could entice him, tease him - force his hand so to speak. "I'm just gonna slip across the hall and get ready for bed," Carol added sweetly as she tried not to laugh at the look of confusion and intrigue on his face. "Be right back," Carol called over her shoulder, trying to think of what exactly she could wear to bed that would catch his attention.


	5. Chapter 5

Carol didn't really have many options for sleeping attire. When they were at the clothing store she had avoided that section because at the time she couldn't imagine actually wearing a nightie or pajamas to bed. She looked over the few articles she had picked out and quickly remembered she had grabbed a slip to wear under the party dress, then opted against using it once she tried the dress on and realized the black material would show.

Picking up the slip, feeling the lace and silk between her fingers, Carol smiled. It was sexier than any of the nightgowns she had briefly seen in the shop, bordering on true lingerie. Did she actually have the guts to put it on and climb into bed with Daryl? It helped that the material was dark. Had it been white or beige Carol likely wouldn't have done it. But the black was a lot less revealing.

Carol undressed, leaving on only her panties and pulled the slip over her head. The silk felt smooth on her skin to where it fell, mid thigh. It actually fit quite well, though it was likely made for someone with a little more in the chest area. Carol touched her breasts through the lacy bust area. She had lost weight as food supplies became scarce and as usual, the first place it disappeared was her boobs. It's not like she was ever busty, but Carol knew from her saggy bra that she did up on the tightest clasp that she used to have more.

Her nipples stiffened with her touch, but also thoughts of the man across the hallway. She released them and waited a few minutes for things to settle. The slip was going to be terrifying enough for her bashful bestie, no sense scaring him even more by appearing aroused.

Carol took a deep breath and opened her door. Now or never, she thought, confidently crossing the hallway and entering Daryl's room without knocking. He was looking out the window at the bright moon, but turned when she entered. "Oh...Uh, guess you... Found something," he stammered. Carol knew if she could see his cheeks they were likely burning.

Time to step up your game Peletier, Carol told herself. "Yes, you like?" she asked, spinning around. She could feel her boobs swaying as she spun and stopped.

"Mmm hmm," Daryl replied. It came out almost a whimper and he looked terribly embarrassed.

"Me too," Carol continued. "It's so comfy and silky smooth. Here, feel," she added wandering over to him. There was no way Daryl was reaching out to feel her nightie on his own, so Carol took his hand and placed it on her tummy. "Isn't it lovely material?" Carol continued as she moved his hand a bit to stroke it. "I've never owned anything like this before." When Carol released his hand Daryl didn't pull it away immediately, he lingered and she felt her heart start to pound. Could it really be that easy? A sexy nightie and he was putty in her hands? Wishful thinking, Carol realized as he yanked his hand back.

"We should sleep," Daryl mumbled, walking to his side of the bed and climbing in.

Carol wandered slowly to her side and slipped in beside him. She put her head on the pillow and closed her eyes. It only took a few seconds to decide she wasn't finished with him yet. She rolled and looked at him. "So, do you ever miss it?" she asked.

"Miss what?" Daryl answered, playing along.

"You know… sex," Carol replied, biting her lip to keep from laughing at the look on his face. "Oh come on, you're my best friend. We should be able to talk about stuff like this," Carol teased him. "I miss it. I mean, I don't miss Ed and it was never that good… but when it's been this long, even bad sex seems better than none." Daryl looked tense. "Seriously, do you? Tell me."

"Course I miss it," Daryl hissed. "Now can we sleep?"

"What do you miss most?" Carol pushed him.

"What is wrong with you?" Daryl grumbled. "You're acting weird. Comin' in here with your skimpy silk thing and asking about sex."

Oh God you are so dense, Carol thought. She didn't know it was possible for a man to miss signals as badly as Daryl did. "I'm just making conversation," Carol returned the grumble. "And you know I didn't have many options, but I'll go change if it's a problem…" she started to get up.

"Carol stop… sorry," Daryl said, reaching for her wrist. "Don't, it's fine." When he was sure she wasn't going anywhere he released her. They laid there quietly for a few minutes and finally Daryl spoke, so softly she barely heard him. "I miss going down on a woman. Night."

Holy fuck, did she hear that right? Daryl Dixon just admitted that the thing he missed most about sex is licking pussy. Carol felt her entire body respond to the thought of Daryl's head between her legs. Well this plan is an epic failure, she thought. Now I'm completely turned on and no closer to getting laid… from Daryl at least. Carol sighed, rather loudly and closed her eyes. Sleep was going to be a struggle, that was for sure.

Now how the fuck am I supposed to sleep? Daryl wondered. He heard Carol sigh loudly and the sound made his groin tighten even more than it already was. All he could think about was taking his tongue down South and tasting something he hadn't tasted in years. More specifically his mind was focussed on the nether regions of one woman in particular. And she was lying right beside him.

He had no idea what had gotten into her, but it was making him crazy. Daryl couldn't quite figure out if she was doing it on purpose or if she really was just trying to sleep in something more comfortable. But the sex talk, that was something altogether different. They had never even come close to talking about anything like that. It's not like he hadn't overheard her talking with the girls about stuff… things that made him blush and run away. And there was the one time she asked him to screw around, but she was joking and she certainly wasn't trying to initiate a conversation about sex, just teasing him.

What if she was doing it for a reason though? He wondered. What if she was trying to tell him she wanted something more between them? Carol wasn't the type to beat around the bush though. If she wanted to say something, she would just come out and say. No, Daryl decided, if Carol had feelings for him she would have already told him.

None of the rational talk was doing a thing to calm his dick down though. He'd already spanked it in the shower that morning, bolting from the room, worried Carol might notice his woody and freak out. Truth was, he liked having her in the same bed. He liked having her close. And he was pretty sure she felt far more comfortable there than on her own. But it was hard on his hormones. They had slept close before, but it was always on the hard ground, with bumps and twigs, cold and damp. Sleeping close was just as much about survival than comfort. In the bed it was different. It was already warm and comfortable. Having Carol there was beyond what he needed, it was a luxury, but it was a luxury he wasn't willing to give up if he could help it.

He felt her shift, reminding him of her presence. Daryl had no idea how he was going to sleep. He needed a distraction, something to take his mind off his penis and the image of her in that skimpy silk number. "Carol, you awake?" he whispered.

"Yeah," she replied instantly.

"Remember back at the prison, when I couldn't sleep… sometimes you would read to me?" Daryl asked, rolling to face her and seeing her back.

"Yeah, I miss that," Carol replied, rolling in his direction so they were face to face.

"Well… seems I can't sleep. Any chance you know somethin' or could make somethin' up?" He asked shyly, even though he knew she wouldn't mind.

"Sure," she said, smiling at him. Daryl got comfy on his pillow and listened to Carol recite him her own spin on Jack and the Beanstalk. She found a book of Fairytales at the prison and often read him chapters from it. He felt foolish at first, thinking fairytales were for kids until he heard some of the content and realized they weren't written for children at all. Listening to her tell him about Jack and the giant Daryl started to relax and was actually sleepy by the time she was done.

"Thanks," he said, with a yawn. Carol just nodded and looked at him. Daryl had no idea what compelled him to say what he did, but before rolling over he admitted something he had just admitted to himself earlier, "I like having you here." He saw something flash in her eyes before he turned away. Daryl wasn't quite sure what he saw, but he knew it was something good.

When Daryl woke the next morning Carol was gone. He had no idea what time it was, but he was pretty sure he hadn't slept in that much. He got out of bed and went to the bathroom to pee and brush his teeth. It had been a long time since the prison, where brushing your teeth had become a normal ritual, but they did indeed have toothpaste and toothbrushes again.

When he made it downstairs he found Carol at the kitchen table, alone, with a lot of food. "Don't tell on me, but I said there were 5 of us so you could have an extra. I know how much you love blueberry."

"Your secret is safe with me," Daryl said, popping an entire muffin in his mouth in one bite. Carol watched him with an amused look that started to change to something else as he chewed. "What's wrong?" Daryl asked. It came out muffled because his mouth was still full.

"I'm trying not to let myself worry, but it's been a long time since you've been out on runs while I stay behind," Carol said, looking away for a minute. "I tried not to worry at the prison either, but you know I always did." She looked at him with a smile he knew was forced. "Just be safe okay?"

Daryl nodded. "I'll be back before dark." He forced his own smile, "you will see me from the tower before you're done your shift." Daryl would not be mentioning anything to her about the gnawing in his gut. He couldn't put his finger on it so he was trying his best to ignore it.

"I'm glad Glenn is going," Carol added. "Makes me feel better that there are two of us and two of them." Daryl was pretty sure Douglas had planned that for the first few runs, to make sure their group was trustworthy and also to allow them to develop a sense of trust as well. "Who are the other two?"

"Scott and Heath," Daryl replied. "Met em yesterday, they seem okay."

"I talked to Heath at the party," Carol said. "You can tell he has his guard up. But I respect that. If he trusted us right away I would be suspicious."

Daryl nodded. He had thought the very same thing. Carol finished her breakfast as Glenn and Maggie wandered in. "Muffins," Glenn exclaimed joyously, looking from Daryl to Carol.

"Thank her," Daryl gestured in Carol's direction.

"I think I love you," Maggie said, giving Carol a quick squeeze and grabbing a muffin.

"Hey, I loved her first," Glenn interjected, kissing Carol on the cheek.

You're wrong, Daryl thought, catching Carol's eye. Whether their feelings were only friendship or something deeper, the truth was they loved each other. "Meet ya by the gate," Daryl said to Glenn, picking up the last muffin. Luckily Glenn and Maggie had no idea it was actually his second. He gave Carol another look, this time it said 'let's go.' She stood, shouldered her rifle and followed him out.

Once they were alone outside he spoke, "Thought I would walk you to the tower and then wait for Glenn." Carol shot him a thankful glance.

Daryl walked with her, eating his muffin along the way. "I bet your muffins are even better than these," he commented, stuffing the rest in his mouth.

"Those were pretty good, but..." Carol laughed. "You're right, I do make amazing muffins."

"You should make some, here, we have a stove now. You can get supplies..." Daryl blushed. "I mean if you want to..."

"You have I idea how much I would love to cook and bake," she sighed, climbing up the steps ahead of him. Daryl tried unsuccessfully not to look at her ass. The new pants she was wearing were a bit tighter on her butt and Daryl couldn't help but stare. "Thanks for walking me up," Carol said sincerely.

"No problem," Daryl shrugged. Carol was standing close, so close he could smell her clean soapy scent. "I'll, uh... See you soon, ok?" he said awkwardly.

"Yeah... Yeah... Soon," Carol replied, a hint of sadness in her voice.

Daryl stared at her for a minute and then did something impulsive. He reached out and pulled her into his arms. She felt so good he didn't want to let go. She smelled amazing and tucked perfectly into his arms, melting against his body. Daryl was almost positive he heard Carol whimper, or sigh at least.

Eventually he forced himself to let her go, even though he could have happily held her for hours. "Better go," he mumbled into her hair as he released her.

"I'll be expecting you for a late dinner," Carol said, crossing her arms and smiling at him.

"Yeah?" Daryl asked, happy she wanted to cook.

"Yeah. Glenn too. Maggie and I will make a nice meal," Carol replied, reaching out and squeezing his hand quickly. "Go, and don't be late for supper."

Several hours later Carol's words were ringing in his ears. They had made it to a town, searched several buildings and were so close to finishing up, when a herd moved through and forced them up onto the roof of a building. "If we jump to the next roof and then climb down on the far side, I think we could circle back around there..." Glenn said, pointing as he spoke. "Get back to the truck and get the hell out of here."

They all nodded in agreement. It was a bit of a leap, but nothing they couldn't manage, all being athletic guys. "Let's do it," Daryl said, throwing his backpack across, handing Glenn his crossbow, then getting a running start and jumping across. He nodded to Glenn who tossed over his weapon, followed by his own backpack and gun. Next thing Daryl knew Glenn and Heath were by his side and they were waiting for Scott.

Daryl realized as soon as he saw him jump that Scott wasn't going to make it. He watched in horror as the man landed with a thud against the brick building. Heath and Glenn were closest and were able to grab him, but the damage had been done. It was obvious Scott was in a lot of pain.

"His leg," Heath said, pointing. Daryl saw the bone protruding through Scott's pants.

"Oh fuck," Glenn muttered.

The men pooled their knowledge and resources to set Scott's leg as best they could. Once he was settled they sat, exhausted. "Now what?" Glenn asked.

"We gotta stay here for the night, and hope that herd is gone by morning," Heath replied quickly.

"No fucking way," Daryl said, jumping to his feet. "We have to go back today. Now."

"Daryl," Glenn said gently. "In the time we've been fixing up Scott's leg, the walkers have closed in on our escape route. We have nowhere to go."

Daryl looked in all directions off the top of the building and realized Glenn was right. Now he knew what the gnawing in his gut was from. Scott needed a fucking doctor and Daryl needed to get home to Carol and they were both stuck on a roof surrounded by walkers.

I am so sorry Carol, he thought, slumping back to the ground. All he could think about as darkness closed in was that he'd been late for supper and Carol would have to sleep alone. His heart ached for hurting her, even though he knew she would understand. He looked up at a bright star in the sky, Polaris, the North Star. He had pointed it out to Carol once and she always looked for it on a starry night. Daryl spoke to her in his mind, I'm okay, I'll be back soon. I love you.

~~~~~~~~

Carol cleared supper off the table and hugged Maggie. "I'm sure they are fine," she whispered. "Try to sleep. I bet they are back by morning."

Carol waited for Maggie to shut her bedroom door and then slipped into Daryl's room. She knew she wasn't likely to sleep but if she had a chance it would be where she felt his presence.

Before climbing into bed she peeked out the window, hoping to see the guys walking towards the house. No luck, but she did spot Polaris. Daryl showed her once and she always loved to pick it out, likely because it was always the brightest and easy.

Something about looking at the star felt comforting. Carol felt a calmness wash over her and she somehow knew Daryl was fine. "See you soon," she whispered. "I love you."


	6. Chapter 6

Carol was heading to the guard tower to start her shift when she heard commotion at the gate. There were shouts from the other side and several people took off running. It took her but a split second to follow, clutching her rifle as she ran, praying whatever was going on didn't involve Daryl being injured or... No, she wouldn't even go there. Carol hated that her mind and her heart didn't give Glenn's safety even close to the same passion as it did Daryl's. She loved Glenn too and quickly prayed for him as she ran, but her mind snapped right back to Daryl.

"Hurry the fuck up and let us in," yelled a familiar voice from the other side. Carol felt relief hit her like a gale force wind. He was okay. Daryl was alive. By the time she got to the gate, it was open. She saw that Glenn was fine too, but Scott was not- far from it actually. Glenn and Heath were pretty much carrying him and he looked on the verge of passing out.

Daryl stood behind carrying his crossbow, two backpacks and Scott's rifle. Carol couldn't stop herself from running right to him and hugging him tightly. Their bodies connected with a thud and Daryl stumbled slightly. She didn't notice the wince or the contorted look of pain on his face until she pulled back and he righted himself, wincing again.

"Oh my God, what's wrong?" Carol asked, feeling instantly sick.

"I'm fine," Daryl grumbled. "Just twisted my knee is all. No big deal."

Carol looked skeptical as he took a step. She could tell he was in a lot of pain, both physical and wounded pride. "Gimme those," Carol said, taking the two packs from him. She flung one on her back and the other over her shoulder. "Rick," she yelled, beckoning him over. "Help him to the infirmary."

"No," Daryl interjected. "Said I was fine."

Rick and Carol shared a look and she let Rick take over. "Fine, huh? Then let's see you walk..." He crossed his arms and stepped back out of Daryl's path. With his first step Daryl disguised the pain well, but it started to show with step two and he stopped after the third.

"See, I'm fine," Daryl hissed.

"All I see is a stubborn fucking liar," Rick said. Despite everything, Carol giggled at the truth. If looks could kill Daryl just turned her into a walker. "Come on, you're going to sit and wait until Denise is done with Scott so she can check you out."

Daryl muttered something that was prob best left unheard, but let Rick help him towards the infirmary, where they had already rushed Scott. Carol started to follow but realized she had the supplies from the run and a shift in the guard tower. She stopped to contemplate what to do when she felt a tap on her shoulder.

Carol turned to see Douglas and felt instantly queasy. "It won't happen again," he said quietly, raising his hands in a symbol of surrender, recognizing the look on her face. Carol nodded and the knot in her stomach eased. "Listen, I know you care about him, and I know he's stubborn. I want you to take today off, maybe tomorrow too. Denise will tell us more, but they way he hobbled off..." Douglas shook his head. "I suspect he won't be going on runs for a while, maybe not even walking on it much for a few days."

Carol started to interrupt, and was about to tell him she didn't want time off, but Douglas held up his hand. "Your mind will not be on the job today, can you argue with me on that?" Carol shook her head once again in defeat, he was right, she couldn't deny it. "We have lots of people here, more since y'all arrived. Someone will cover your shift. Right now your job is to make sure he does what Denise suggests. I see the value in that man, he's a fighter... A survivor, like you. We need him."

Carol sighed, "You realize you're assigning me a damn near impossible task, right?"

"Yep," Douglas agreed with a smile. "But the one thing I know, in the few days you have been here... If anyone can get through to him, make him listen, it's you." Carol nodded and started to turn, but Douglas stopped her. "Carol, I messed up, and I want to make things right. I apologize for the position I put you in, and for making you uncomfortable. You don't have to accept it now, but I hope one day you will."

Carol studied his face, he really did look sincere. "I'll consider it," she said simply.

Douglas seemed fine with her reply. "One last thing, I was in love once... I mean, I know I still am if I looked deep enough to find it," he glanced towards Regina and Carol saw something flash. He did love his wife, she could tell. "Anyway," he cleared his throat. "All I'm trying to say is that I recognize love in another man's eyes. And I see it when he looks at you." Carol felt her jaw slack in shock. "Trust me," he added, looking her sternly in the eye. "Don't waste time... We don't know how much we have left." This time Douglas was the one to start to leave but turned back. "Can you take those packs to storage for sorting? Then head to him, okay?"

Carol was dazed as she headed to drop off the supplies. It wasn't as if she didn't suspect Daryl had feelings for her, she was quite sure he did, and she knew others suspected it too. But to have someone else say they see it so clearly... It was frightening, yet certainly encouraging as well. And he was right about never knowing how much time they had left.

So where did that leave her? The sexy nightie, the sex talk... Hadn't really got her anywhere. She should have known that subtlety was lost on Daryl, even though she really hadn't been all that subtle.

Carol was lost in thought as she slowly wandered back to the infirmary. "Where are you?" Said a voice. Carol stopped and looked up to see Michonne smiling at her. "You're a million miles away."

"Yeah, sorry," Carol apologized. "Just trying to sort something out." Carol studied Michonne's face for a minute and spoke impulsively. "How do I... With Daryl? You know? Get him to be honest with how he feels? I mean... I can't even..." Carol fumbled with her words. "Sorry," she shook her head.

Michonne touched her shoulder. "It's okay, I know what you're asking. I'm just not sure I have the answer. That man is like no one I've ever met before." Michonne smiled again. Carol loved seeing her friend smile, it was a beautiful smile that you couldn't help but smile back to. "The one thing I do know... He's in love with you."

Carol's world was rocked for the second time in a matter of minutes. "Has he said that? To you?" she asked.

Michonne shook her head, "Not in so many words. But remember, I was with him for a while before you saved us and I was with him when you were missing. He was so lost Carol. He wasn't the same, wasn't whole until he got you back." Michonne moved from Carol's shoulder and grabbed her hand. "I think you might just have to tell him how you feel and hope to hell he doesn't try to run. Hey," she exclaimed, face lighting up. "I heard about his knee, might be good timing since he literally can't run away." Both women laughed at the insane truth of the statement. "Good luck," Michonne added, squeezing her hand and releasing it.

Carol watched her leave, wondering if Michonne had the same internal conflict, about Rick. It was a bit different. Rick was fully capable of loving someone deeply and wasn't a socially awkward goof. But no one was really sure if he was ready to let Lori go and move on. No, Carol decided, Michonne had it tougher. She had a ghost for competition. The only competition Carol had was her own nerve and Daryl's nature.

When she arrived at the infirmary Daryl was still waiting. Scott was in surgery and Heath was pacing back and forth.

"I think it's gonna be a while," Daryl said, when she walked in. "He's making me nervous," he whispered, gesturing towards Heath. "Can we come back later or something?"

Before Carol could answer Denise walked out. "You can see him, but he's still sleeping," she said to Heath. "Just gonna check out Daryl here and I'll come update you." She waved Daryl into an exam room. "Let's take a look," she said. Daryl stood staring back at her. "Well?" Denise pushed. "I'm a doctor, get over yourself." He turned his gaze to Carol.

"Oh for Christ sake," she muttered, turning her back. She heard Daryl unzip his pants and couldn't help smiling at the sound. Carol was glad she was facing away.

"Oh yeah, did a number to that knee," Denise said, sucking in a breath. "Gonna need to stay off it for a couple days until the swelling goes down." Carol heard Daryl sigh and the zipping sound again. She turned around as Daryl did up his belt. "I heard you're in charge of making sure he behaves?"

"Word travels fast around here," Carol remarked as Daryl gave her a look of confusion. She shot him back a look telling him she would explain later.

"Yeah well someone thinks this one is important," Denise replied with a grin, jerking a thumb towards Daryl.

"Yeah... I concur," Carol replied, smiling. Daryl had enough of them talking around him and started to leave the room.

"Hold up there Cowboy," Denise stopped him. She handed Carol a tensor. "Get him comfortable in bed, wrap the knee and prop it up with some pillows. Hopefully the swelling will come down some over night." She grabbed a crutch and shoved it at Daryl. "Use it." He scowled at her, but her tone was serious. "If you don't this will keep you laid up even longer," she warned.

Daryl grumbled but took the crutch and hobbled out of the infirmary, leaning on it and walking gingerly. "I like her," Carol said once they were outside.

Daryl snorted, "of course you do." He glanced at her while they walked slowly home. "What was she talking about... You making me behave?" Carol told him most of her conversation with Douglas, even the apology, leaving out only the last part. "Hmm," Daryl muttered. "I don't need no babysitter."

"Think of me as company so you're not bored then," Carol said, shrugging. They made it to the house. "Did you want to get comfy on the couch? Avoid the stairs?"

Daryl shook his head. "Nah, rather be in our room..." Carol looked away so she could smile. He said "our room" not his room. She liked how that sounded.

They took the steps one at a time and eventually made it to the top. Daryl hobbled into the room and sat on the edge of the bed. Carol looked at him and held up the tensor. "I can do it myself," he said reaching for it.

"I'll go get some lunch while you do that and then we'll get you settled, okay?" Daryl nodded and she left.

When Carol returned Daryl was sitting on the edge of the bed, pants at his ankles, still attempting the tensor. When he realized she was there he grabbed the blanket to cover himself. Carol rolled her eyes. "Need help?" she asked, setting down the food.

"Fucking thing keeps slipping and loosening," he grumbled.

Carol walked over and flipped up the blanket to expose his knee. She expertly wrapped it and used a metal clip to tie it off. She'd had her fair share of sprains from Ed, she knew how to wrap almost anything. Daryl started to awkwardly attempt to pull up his pants. "Why don't you just leave them off?" Carol suggested. Daryl flipped his eyes to meet hers and blushed. "You'll be more comfortable," she explained. "I'll cover you up... You're wearing underwear, right? Relax."

Daryl reluctantly agreed and Carol helped him into bed, trying not to make it too obvious when she checked him out as she covered him up. Daryl's legs were lean and muscular. Carol had no idea how much she could be turned on by a man's muscular thighs. She wanted to touch them, badly. Carol restrained herself, but had to reign herself in even harder when she caught a glimpse of his package before covering him up. She knew it was an image that would be burned in her mind for the foreseeable future.

"I'm bored already," Daryl whined after they were through eating.

"Wow, what does that say for my company?" Carol teased. She knew it wasn't going to be easy keeping him down for a few days, but it hadn't even been a few hours. "Wanna make a deal?" Carol said, an idea popping into her mind.

"What kinda deal?" Daryl replied, obviously intrigued.

"If you behave for the rest of the day..." she started, laughing as he pouted before she even finished. "I will tell Douglas you're gonna come up in the tower with me until you're knee is healed." Carol was pleased with herself. She wanted to get back to work and she knew it would make Daryl feel more useful, and she could still stick to her agreement to keep an eye on him.

"Deal," he replied instantly.

If only other things were that easy, Carol thought, studying his handsome features as a smile started to spread across her face. Daryl made her happy. Just being with him, talking to him, laughing with him... But she wanted more. Carol needed more. And she was pretty sure he did too.


	7. Chapter 7

After a full day of card games and easy chatting Carol was very glad Douglas had approved her taking Daryl up to the guard tower the next day. There was only so much Gin Rummy you could play. Even mixing in a little Crazy Eights and Speed didn't help much. Carol had stepped out for a few minutes to speak with Douglas about her plan and returned to Daryl with supper and the good news.

"I can't get used to eating three meals," Carol sighed, feeling full even though she hadn't finished her small portion. She pushed it over to Daryl to finish.

"You sure?" he asked, looking up at her. "You need to eat, you're getting too skinny." Carol smiled. She wasn't sure how to take his comment but decided it was likely his awkward way of complimenting her, in that he actually noticed her physical appearance. "I, Uh, just meant we have all lost a lot of weight and you didn't really have much ta lose to start..." Daryl added, fumbling through his words. "Oh fuck, I mean, you looked fine before..." Carol continued to smile as his face burned hot. "And you're fine now... Not just fine... Oh for fuck sakes," Daryl grumbled, shoving a bite of food in his mouth to stop the train wreck. Carol continued to study him with her tight lipped smile as Daryl avoided eye contact and shoveled the rest of her supper into his mouth.

When Daryl was finished chewing he took a long drink of water before finally looking at her. "You look amazing," he said quietly. "You always have." His words came out so genuine and touching that Carol sucked in a breath to hold back the tears. And then she acted on impulse once again. She walked around to his side of the bed, took a seat beside him, cupped his face in her hands and placed a long, lingering kiss on his lips. Daryl didn't exactly kiss her back, not at first, but he made no move to pull back or stop her. Carol took that as a good sign and let the kiss continue longer than she had intended. When she felt Daryl's hand touch the small of her back Carol gasped, her mouth opening slightly to allow the noise to escape. Before her mind was fully aware of what she was doing her tongue was out, licking at his lips. And when Daryl instinctively opened his own mouth she slipped her tongue inside, finding his there waiting, exploring and tasting him.

This kiss was something she had dreamed about for a long time. As much as she wanted to take it further, even deeper, and beyond, Carol knew she had to be slow and careful with him until he fully committed to his feelings. It had to be just the right amount of push or she would lose him, kind of like adding weights to balance a scale - too much and it would tip. Carol forced herself to retreat, then looked him in the eye to make sure she didn't see any wild panic. He was fine so she spoke, "thank you."

"For what?" Daryl replied, looking slightly stunned and rather boyish.

Carol chuckled, "For saying I look amazing."

"Oh right," he said, a tiny smile appearing.

Before things had a chance to get uncomfortable Carol stood and started to wander the room. "Have you looked in any of these drawers?" she asked, pulling open the top dresser drawer. There wasn't much, a couple towels and fresh sheets.

"Nah, haven't looked in any of em," Daryl replied as she opened the second and third drawers to find them empty. "Figured they probably looted these places and emptied them all out anyway."

She figured he was likely right yet still opened the bottom drawer to find it cleared. As she went to shut it she heard a clunk. Something had fallen in behind. She pulled the drawer all the way out and bent down to look. Carol reached in and grabbed the item. "Wow, I didn't even own one of these before the apocalypse." She displayed an iPhone and charger in great condition. "I'm plugging it in," she whispered, as if someone would hear and catch her. "This is way nicer than my Motorola flip phone," Carol laughed.

"Oh God, was it pink?" Daryl teased.

Carol gave him a sheepish grin. "Sophia picked it out."

"Are you saying you wouldn't have picked pink?" Daryl smirked at her.

"Oh look, it's turning on," Carol deflected answering. "Oh... Wow... I'm gonna take a wild stab and say this was likely a guys phone..." Carol muttered, looking at a photo of Jennifer Anniston wearing nothing but a strategically placed tie.

She flipped the phone in Daryl's direction. "Hmm," he said, grinning like an idiot. "Don't be so sure, I bet Tara would like that photo as much as any guy out there."

"True," Carol replied. "I suppose if I had a girl crush she wouldn't be such a bad choice." They looked at each other and laughed. Carol was enjoying the feeling of openness between them, even after a kiss that could have made things very awkward, yet didn't.

Carol slid her finger across the bottom to unlock the phone. She stared at the unfamiliar icons on the screen. Some little boxes appeared to contain even more apps but she scanned until she found the only one she was really looking for - music. "Want to listen to music?" Carol asked.

"Do I have a choice?" He replied.

"Nope," Carol said with a laugh. "But you can help me choose what to turn on." She started to scroll and was happy to see there were a lot of songs and a huge variety. "What do you like to listen to?"

"Never really got to decide," Daryl shrugged. "My old man listened to that real twangy Country shit that makes you want to drink and cry. Merle was more into classic rock and 80s bands - Queen, Journey, even Heart," Daryl smiled, looking wistful.

"But what about you? What did you like?" Carol pushed him.

"I don't know..."

"Come on, tell me," Carol prodded.

"Promise you won't laugh?" Daryl said, looking serious.

"Hey, I listened to the Spice Girls and Backstreet Boys and it wasn't really because of Sophia," Carol admitted. "I promise I won't laugh. Unless you say Barry Manilow. Then I might laugh..."

Daryl smiled at her joke. "I used to think Bon Jovi was the best band ever. Wanted to be Jon Bon Jovi." He was blushing after the admission but Carol was excited.

"Holy crap, favourite song?" Carol gushed. "I love Bon Jovi. Why have we never talked about music before?"

"Livin on a Prayer," Daryl answered instantly. "You?"

"Bed of Roses," Carol said with a grin. "A close second is Someday I'll be Saturday Night," she added.

"You're definitely Saturday night now," Daryl replied, looking into her eyes. Carol truly appreciated that he knew the lyrics of the song and why it meant something to her.

"Well, none of our favourites are on here, but there are a few Bon Jovi songs." Carol selected Wanted Dead or Alive and hit play.

She sang along to every word, occasionally glancing at Daryl who was watching her with an amused look, absentmindedly mouthing a line or two every once in a while. It was a sweet and carefree moment, one that Carol knew was even more special because she was sharing it with Daryl. He didn't often let his tough guy exterior down and let loose. But he smiled and laughed more that night than she had ever seen him do in over 2 years.

"I think Maggie and Glenn are home, shut it off," Daryl hissed.

"Too late, you're busted," Maggie said from the doorway. "Whatcha got?"

Carol showed her the phone as Glenn entered the room too. It wasn't long before the three of them had the phone turned up to max and were dancing around to some hip hop song Carol had never heard but Glenn knew every word.

She plopped onto the bed beside Daryl when it was over, breathless and happy, so incredibly happy. Carol couldn't remember a time she had that much fun with friends. It seemed absolutely crazy that there were zombies roaming the earth outside the gates, while she danced, talked and laughed with people she loved more than life itself.

"Come on," Maggie said, taking Glenn's hand. "Let's go." She gave Carol a knowing look and Carol wondered if Maggie knew they had been sleeping in the same room since they all moved into the house.

"But I want to dance more," Glenn whined. "I haven't even showed you all my best moves yet."

"Believe me, I have seen all your moves and Carol and Daryl will thank me for sparing them," Maggie joked, tugging Glenn to the door. "Night y'all," she said, sweetly, closing the door that had been open when they came in.

"Are you changing for bed?" Daryl asked, breaking the loud silence Glenn and Maggie's departure had left.

Carol was surprised by his question and felt a smile playing on her lips. Maybe she was finally getting somewhere… "Do you want me to change for bed?" she asked, hoping he might actually flirt back.

"If you want," Daryl said, looking away. "You said it was comfortable, you should be comfortable." Carol bit her lip. Yep, that was a full on Daryl Dixon flirt and she couldn't have been happier.

"Okay, close your eyes," Carol said, pulling the nightie out of the nightstand drawer. She changed quickly. "Done," she said when she was finished. She watched his eyes flick to her body as he attempted to look at her, without her noticing. Carol stretched and yawned, twisting her body casually as she did, giving Daryl a full view. "How's the knee feeling?" she asked, pulling back the sheets to get into bed.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, my knee… feels alright, until I move it," Daryl replied, wiggling his leg and wincing.

"Here, let's get you set up," Carol said, climbing across the mattress to help him lay back to sleep. She bent over reaching behind him to prop the pillow. She hadn't meant to give him a full view down the front of her nightgown, but she wished she'd been smart enough to think of it because her tits had his full attention. Just feeling his eyes on her flesh was enough to send heat rushing through her body and start an ache for his touch. Their lips weren't all that far apart, she could kiss him again… Carol wanted to kiss him again, but couldn't decide if it was too soon… Daryl looked up while she was still deciding and the look she saw in his eyes made the decision for her.

Carol pulled the nightie high enough to slip a leg across his waist and straddle him, not breaking eye contact for a second as she moved into position. Her heart was pounding so hard in her chest it was making her dizzy. As she settled down on him Carol could feel his erection through the sheets and his boxers. It was making her crazy and she wanted to grind on him, so badly, but she kept still, thinking of both his sore knee and of course, being cautious with him. She drifted her eyes from Daryl's down to his lips and moved slowly towards them. With only an inch or so to go he came up to meet her eagerly. This kiss was different than the first. It was hungry and passionate. It was the kind of kiss that usually developed into so much more. Carol enjoyed every second of how he tasted and the warmth of his mouth, his slick aggressive tongue and the way he groaned into her mouth whenever she took control from him. Carol felt him thrust his hips up, pressing his hard dick into the area it was resting against between her legs. She felt a rush and knew her panties were likely wet with moisture. "I miss going down on a woman… going down on a woman… going down on a woman…" His words played over and over in her head making her want to get rid of her underwear and move her pussy to his face. Daryl thrust again and she realized he wanted her just as much as she wanted him. They could… "Ow, fuck…" Daryl hissed, ending the kiss and snapping her out of the trance she was in.

Carol slid off him quickly, "I'm sorry, are you okay?"

"Yeah, wasn't you… just moved a bit too much," Daryl grumbled. They both knew the spell was broken, and at least for that moment they would be left wondering what could have been. In fact, Carol knew she would likely wonder all night, while she tried to sleep and in her dreams.

Carol lay beside him, trying to calm her racing heart and raging hormones. "Daryl?" she said, not looking at him. "I, uh, I think maybe we have some things to talk about… tomorrow?" It came out as a question. She didn't want to force him into anything he wasn't ready for.

"Yeah…" his reply was slow. "I think you're probably right."


	8. Chapter 8

Carol could tell Daryl's knee was hurting him the next morning. After helping him down the stairs into the kitchen she considered trying to talk him out of going up into the tower with her, knowing the steps would be painful. But he looked far too excited about getting out of the house to break his heart. So they walked slowly to the tower and the night shift sniper helped Daryl up the stairs before he left. "Could have done it myself," Daryl grumbled, once he was gone. Carol was thankful he at least acted somewhat appreciative for the help to the man's face.

Carol ignored him and got herself set up to begin her watch. Every time, the same butterflies made their way into her stomach, thinking that it could be the day they needed her, could be the day she got to prove she was an asset to the group. Carol knew her family already saw her as an asset, but she couldn't help the need to show the rest. It bothered her that she felt that way because quite honestly, Carol made her own choices based on what she believed was the best course of action. She truly didn't care if others saw her choices as right or wrong, as long as she knew in her heart that she did the right thing. But the need to be seen as strong and independent was something different, likely stemming from being oppressed for far too long by Ed. There was no way she would ever let anyone view her as weak or a liability, ever again.

"You ain't gotta prove anything, to them, or anyone," Daryl said, from somewhere behind her. The annoyance of his ability to know what she was thinking and feeling had faded a long, long time ago. At first, as he got really good at judging her thoughts and moods, Carol had been frustrated that she couldn't hide anything from him. But over time she began to see it as an incredibly special connection, that not many people had, especially for Daryl. His ability to read her was novel for him, she knew that. When Carol finally realized and accepted that she was likely the only person on earth he would ever understand completely - that was when it became an absolute delight, rather than an invasion of privacy.

The connection they had made it all the more confusing that Daryl wasn't able to recognize that she was completely in love with him. He could stand behind her, without even seeing her face and recognize her need to prove herself, but when she flirted with him and actually tried to make him see how she felt... Nada. It was nuts and she just couldn't wrap her mind around it, which was exactly why she was treading so carefully. Though after the kisses the night before, Carol was feeling a lot more confident.

"I know I don't have to," she sighed in response. "But I just can't be seen as a weak link. I get that there's something vastly important in every job we do, whether it's being a sniper, a teacher, a cook... A leader... But with everything I've been through, this is where I feel I belong and I need to know, without a doubt, that others agree. Or I shouldn't be here..." her voice trailed off as she thought about how she had considered leaving the group after she got them out of Terminus. If it hadn't been for Daryl catching her... Who knows where she would have been at that point.

"Don't," he warned, interrupting her thoughts. "If you go, I go. We ain't never separating again." His voice was firm, tone commanding, and while Daryl never told her what to do or dominated her in any manner, there was a sense of both in his statement. But Carol knew it came from desperation and the pain of her loss he had felt far too many times since they had met. In any of their separations she felt it too. Carol often wondered if she would have gotten far that night, or if the ache of missing Daryl would have brought her right back with some excuse about looking for supplies.

"Deal," she said, turning to give him a smile. Carol saw he was still standing, leaning on his crutch. "Come on," she grabbed a chair and set it beside her own. "Come sit, help me keep an eye on things... And maybe we can start that talk we need to have." Carol recognized there was no sense beating around the bush. They had already done that, for far too long.

Daryl hobbled over and sat down and they both stared out the window, looking around though there was nothing to see. Finally Carol spoke, "I guess I can start if you want?"

"Mmm, hmm," came his reply with a nod. She took a deep breath thinking of where to begin, but before she let out a word Daryl spoke up. "Why didn't you say something? How long? Why now? Why here? Why me?"

Carol couldn't help but laugh at the way a man of few words had allowed so many questions to fly out of his mouth, but the laugh was particularly directed at the last question. "Why you? Are you kidding me?" Carol knew she should be looking outside, doing her job, but she couldn't resist a glance in his direction. She turned it back on him, "why not?"

Daryl looked down at the floor and shuffled his feet, stopping while it obviously hurt his knee. "Dunno," he mumbled. "Maybe I can never be what you need," he said quietly.

"Oh Daryl," she sighed, not with annoyance, but utter relief. "You already are." His insecurities made her heart hurt and Carol hoped he would accept and believe her words. "I need you to believe that... If not for yourself, believe it for me."

Slowly his head turned until their eyes met. Carol wanted to kiss him again, so badly. But she couldn't, she was working. The conversation itself was already distracting enough. Daryl didn't speak, but he did nod, sending relief washing over her and drawing a smile to her lips. Finally, finally they were getting somewhere.

"I'll answer more of your questions," Carol said, directing her gaze back outside. "But you have to answer some too okay?" She continued to speak without waiting for a reply, "I can't pick a moment when I knew for sure, because the second I realized how I felt about you... When I try to think back I realize I always felt that way. I take myself back, moment by moment, through every separation, all the joy, all the heartbreak... I go back to Sophia coming out of that barn, and the days before that when you searched for her, never giving up... It was likely somewhere during that time, but the foolish romantic in me wants to believe I loved you long before, while Sophia was still alive and Ed... I remember the first time I laid eyes on you at that quarry, you and Merle, and I can't think back to that moment without feeling exactly what I feel for you right now." Carol risked looking away from her watch again to gauge his reaction. "Too Corny?" she asked with a laugh in an attempt to lighten the mood.

"Uh uh," Daryl shook his head. "I get it… I know the feeling." The shock of his statement hit her hard. Carol knew her jaw was slack, but she couldn't control it with the thoughts and emotions swirling around inside her. She couldn't believe he had felt that way for a long time, maybe even as long as she had. Carol assumed it had developed more recently for him – after she escaped the Hospital and they reunited again – if she had to pinpoint a specific moment. "I remember all the times we were separated," Daryl started, speaking slowly and carefully, as if he was really choosing his words, making sure they were perfect for her. "Even with everything I went through before all this… those were by far the worst moments of my life." Carol felt tears stinging her eyes and looked out the window again, to shift her focus just enough to keep the tears from falling. "I don't think about the quarry often… but when I do, I miss Merle… I miss Sophia… and I hate that Shane was the one who beat the shit out of Ed. It should have been me."

"You weren't even there," Carol said gently. "You were trying to find Merle, you didn't know what happened."

"Doesn't matter," Daryl snapped. "I knew what he was doing to you. We all did. I should have saved you from that."

Carol could sense a deep rooted pain and again it shocked her. He had carried that with him for a long time. "Don't Daryl, we're past that… He's gone and we're here… together."

"I know," he sighed. "I know…" his voice trailed off. "Just wanted you to see I do understand." Carol felt like a jerk when his words clicked. He wasn't drudging up the past at all, he was just trying to show her that he feels the same way she does. When he thinks back, even to when they first met and barely knew each other he wanted to protect her.

Carol didn't speak, she simply took a hand off of her gun, continued to stare straight forward, and somehow found his hand, slipping hers into it and squeezing gently. Daryl's hand was warm and comforting, even though it was rough and calloused. "Why now, why here," she repeated his earlier question after a nice moment of silence. "I'm not sure exactly," Carol began. "But maybe it's because we're settled, we're not running, not on the road…"

"The prison? We were safe there, for a while…" Daryl interrupted.

"Yeah… And I knew then, but I didn't think you felt the same," Carol explained. "Honestly, I didn't truly see it in you until after the hospital… And even now… I'm afraid this is too much, afraid you'll run… pull away from me."

"Won't be running anytime soon," Daryl replied, making a joke in his own strange way.

Carol laughed, "well I guess that's another reason why I'm doing this now."

"It doesn't matter," Daryl stated. "I won't run from you. Can't be away from you again. I just can't."

"I know that now," Carol said, looking at him with a smile. "Me neither." She was about to continue speaking when something caught her eye. There were strangers approaching the main gates. "What the hell," she whispered, directing Daryl's attention to the gate. They watched in silence and quickly realized these strangers were in a heated argument with Rick and Aaron. Carol scanned the area, glancing back at Rick and seeing his hands raised. She squinted and saw he had a red dot on his chest – they had a sniper hiding somewhere. "Fuck," she whispered. "Where are you, asshole…" She peeked through the scope in the direction she assumed the sniper was hiding. "Got ya," Carol said, spotting a man with a rifle, hiding on the edge of the woods, aim directed at Rick's chest. "Should I take him out," she whispered to Daryl. "I know I can hit him…"

"Do it," Daryl replied, without hesitation. "It'll give Rick the upper hand."

Carol put the man directly in her sights. It would be an easier shot to take him in the chest, in the heart area, but she shifted her aim to his head. If she missed his heart there was a slim chance he could survive, but he wasn't surviving a head shot, and he wouldn't turn after. She took a deep breath, calmed her nerves and trusted in her skills. Carol pulled the trigger and watched the man drop to the ground, then quickly turned her gun on one of the three men at the gate. Rick acted quickly. As soon as the red dot was gone from his chest his gun was in his hand, trained on another of the men. Daryl had his crossbow aimed at the third, but they were likely a bit too far out of range for his weapon. Luckily Aaron also pulled his gun. They had the group covered. But the three men also had their weapons pointed right back at Rick and Aaron.

"Take another," Daryl instructed. "Gotta show them they can't win."

Carol nodded and easily dropped the man she was aiming at. She saw the look of shock on the two remaining men's faces. They put their arms up in surrender, but something felt off. Neither one of them dropped their gun. She aimed at another, her heart hammering in her chest. His hand started to drop and she shot - Rick, Aaron and Daryl all shooting at the same time. Both men fell to the ground. Carol had no idea who hit them first, but all that mattered was they were dead. She was surprised to see a bolt in the head of one of the men and glanced over at Daryl with a smile. "I didn't think you could aim that accurately this far away."

"Got lucky," he replied with a shrug. Carol knew it was more than luck. Daryl was an amazing shot with his crossbow, far better than he was with a rifle and he was damn good with a rifle.

Carol felt a sense of relief that the threat was over. But it was short lived. "Oh shit," she muttered, looking at Daryl in horror. They both watched the edge of the forest as one of the biggest herds of walkers they had ever seen started to emerge.


	9. Chapter 9

Carol and Daryl stared down at the horrific scene before them. The shots had attracted more walkers than Carol had ever seen in one place. They watched Rick, Aaron and a few others scrambling at the gates, stabbing and slashing at the first wave of walkers, while trying to get the gate closed and secured with everyone on the right side. Everyone but her and Daryl, stuck in the tower with a sea of hungry walkers between them and home.

The tower was sturdy and Carol was very certain it would hold, even if the walkers did notice them and shifted their attention from their current fixation. But she could swear they were swaying slightly as the hordes brushed by below.

Carol lined a walker up in her sights, but she wouldn't be pulling the trigger unless Rick requested help from within. There were too many to even make a dent. When she was satisfied they had the gate secure Carol lowered her weapon. Daryl did the same beside her.

"That's a huge fuckin' herd," Daryl muttered. "Haven't seen one like that since the vet college and I think this is even bigger." He gave her a quick glance, curious if bringing up the timeline of her banishment would trigger anything.

"It's long in the past," Carol reassured him. "Let's focus on the present, like what the hell we do now?"

"When we was stuck on that rooftop they had all vanished by morning. Guess we wait it out and hope for the best," Daryl sighed. Even if the herd thinned out enough to make a break for the gate, Daryl couldn't run. It would be too dangerous. Too risky. Carol knew he was right and nodded in agreement.

"Any chance you packed that deck of cards?" she joked. "Food?" Carol asked after Daryl shook his head.

"Got a couple Nutrigrain bars and a bag of pretzels. But I forgot the reason they put pretzels out at the bars..." he said sheepishly.

"Well we make a good team then," Carol smiled. "Because I may have snuck a couple bottles of water and a big bottle of Powerade from your haul yesterday, before I handed it over." Daryl shook his head, but looked at her thankfully and with pride. Carol shrugged, "Still haven't completely made up my mind about trusting them so I figured some drinks in my backpack in case we had to make a break for it was a good idea."

"Brilliant, you're always one step ahead," Daryl complimented her.

"Learned from the best," Carol returned the praise.

They were gazing at one another when Carol heard a voice calling them. She stood and opened the door to see Glenn had climbed up onto the top of the wall. "You guys okay?" he yelled over the hissing and snarling beneath them.

"Yeah, we're fine for now. Everyone get in safe?" she asked.

"Abe and a few others are stranded at the expansion camp, but they're safe," Glenn explained. They were working on building a new area and expanding the wall on the other side. They had a safe house built for the workers that was fully stocked, unlike the guard tower. There were enough supplies to last them at least a week if they rationed properly. Carol hoped to hell they wouldn't have to test that theory. "I'll be back in the morning, if we can't get you out then I'll find a way to get some food over. You guys be okay until then?"

"Of course," Carol nodded. They both were well aware of the build up at the fence where the walkers had spotted Glenn. For some reason they were more focussed on him, ignoring her. But it was getting dangerous, they both remembered what happened to the fence at the prison. "Go," she called out. "We're fine."

Glenn waved and he was gone. Carol ducked back inside, shutting the door and bolting the lock. They usually left it open in case they needed to lend a hand on the ground or make a quick escape, but her and Daryl weren't going anywhere anytime soon. "You catch all that?" Carol asked him, sinking to the floor beside the chair he was on.

"Yep," Daryl replied holding out half a cereal bar. "Lunch?"

Carol accepted it gratefully, knowing supper wasn't going to be much more. They were back to what they had been used to on the road - rationing, sharing, never feeling full. Carol used the feeling of hunger to fuel her survival instincts back then, and even though they were relatively safe she would do it again. She had conditioned herself to believe that the rumbling of her tummy was simply a reminder she was still alive.

It suddenly struck her that part of why she wasn't fully comfortable with her new environment was likely related to her level of hunger. If she wasn't hungry it wasn't a constant reminder she was alive. Carol realized if they were going to stay and make a life there she had to change that. She had to find a new reminder she was alive. Her eyes instinctively focussed on Daryl and she knew she had her reminder.

Daryl shifted and started to stand. "What are you doing?" she asked, getting to her feet.

"If we're stuck here, might as well get comfortable," he explained. "I was gonna sit there," Daryl pointed. "Beside you," he added, likely to make sure she sat right back where she got up from.

Carol took his arm and helped him walk and then lower himself onto the floor. She sat back down, maybe a little closer to him than her original spot, knowing he wouldn't care. "Should we finish that conversation now? I mean, we suddenly have plenty of free time."

"Yeah, but there's something I need to do first," Daryl replied. "Can you come a bit closer?"

Carol assumed she had food on her face or something as she scooted over and leaned closer. Confirming her thoughts Daryl reached out a hand and brushed her cheek, but he didn't removed it afterwards. He left it there and met her eyes. It wasn't until his eyes drifted to her lips that Carol realized she'd been wrong all along. There was nothing on her face - Daryl wanted to kiss her.

She could have closed the gap, sealed the deal for him, but Carol sensed that he wanted to be the instigator. She got the feeling this was a special moment and something that he needed to do. So far, Carol had been the one to kiss him. Not that Daryl hadn't reciprocated, but he hadn't initiated yet. This time Carol didn't move, she allowed herself to be kissed, sweetly, tenderly, with a shy apprehension at first, that quickly gave way to lust and passion.

It surprised her every time but Daryl really was a good kisser. His shy and awkward nature had led her to suspect his kisses would be a bit awkward as well. Maybe they would have with some other woman, but they knew each other too well. It was if they could anticipate the other's moves and prepare for them. Carol realized the special connection they had could be very fun later on, when they could surprise each other by veering from their intended course.

As the kiss changed from tender to intense Daryl's hands slipped from her face and circled her body, drawing her closer, eventually into his lap. Carol was very aware of his knee and made sure to stay away from it. She learned the night before how annoying it was to be interrupted by his injury.

Carol knew it would only be a kiss, as they had a conversation to finish, but it felt like far more. Carol adjusted her position, placing a knee on either side of his good leg. She put one knee just far enough to brush his groin area lightly and sank down onto his leg, needing to feel something, anything, pressing against her core to relieve some of the build-up. As the kiss continued and Daryl's hands roamed her back, her hips, as much of her ass as he could get a hold of... Carol felt a tingling between her legs. It felt warmer all of sudden and a slight shift told her she was incredibly slick with moisture. She wanted him, so bad it hurt. Touch me, she screamed in her head, trying to regain focus, seek pleasure in the kiss and ignore the parts of her body that were longing for Daryl.

Carol gasped when she felt him pop the button on her pants. She slid back a bit, not losing contact with Daryl's mouth, but making room for him to slip his hand inside her pants. It was too awkward an angle, the way they were situated, so Daryl tugged her, indicating for her to turn. She sat between his legs and leaned back against his chest. Before Daryl worked his way inside her pants once again, he tilted her head and resumed kissing her.

Carol's whimper was met with his groan when Daryl's fingers made contact with her sensitive skin, slippery with desire. His hand probed her, much the same way his tongue explored her mouth. What she described as an ache before, was nothing compared to the feeling he was creating between her legs. Carol could feel him moving higher, painfully slowly getting closer to her clit. She knew the nub was already large and swollen, dying to be rubbed. Daryl drew moisture from her core, up to her clit and lightly slicked the thick liquid over her sensitive bud. He rubbed her once, one tiny circle and Carol's body and mind went insane.

She broke the kiss, she had no choice, it was too distracting and all she wanted to feel was what his hand was doing. Daryl rubbed her again and Carol instantly lifted her pelvis, moving against his fingers, needing him to keep going. It won't take long, she thought, whimpering again as he rubbed her. No, her mind screamed, no. Carol's eyes flew open, trying to figure out why her head was saying no when her body was saying yes, yes, yes. The first one, the first time, it should be together at the same time, some sane person in her head explained. She considered it and decided she agreed. The first time Daryl made her come she really did want his dick buried inside her.

"Stop, stop," Carol managed, weakly. He did stop, instantly and pulled his hand out. She could smell her desire on his fingers and wanted to cry. It wasn't that she wanted him to stop, he needed to know why. Explain it you idiot, her head screamed. "I want you Daryl," she said, turning her head to face him. He looked absolutely confused and she couldn't blame him. "I don't want it to be this way," Carol spoke, pleading for his understanding with her eyes. "I want it to be together," she said, reaching for his belt. Daryl understood, she could see it in his eyes. But still, he stopped her hand and held it in his.

"We should talk now," he said gently.

"What? No. That's not what I meant. I want you Daryl. I want you inside me," she met his eyes with a wild, intense gaze. Why is he doing this? She wondered frantically. "I want you to fuck me," Carol added, thinking maybe she needed to be explicitly clear. "Or I can fuck you," she added desperately, remembering his knee and wondering if that was the issue.

"Hey, hey, shhhh, it's okay," he soothed her, running his other hand up and down her arm in reassurance. "I know that's what you want, I know."

"Then why?" Carol reacted, speaking way louder than she meant to, her words echoing in the tiny room. Her cheeks flushed in embarrassment at her desperation.

"C'mere," Daryl beckoned, pulling her closer, putting her head against his chest and touching her hair. Carol could feel his heart pounding. She couldn't resist sliding a hand down his chest, lower until she felt his erection, huge and hard. "Yes, I want you just as much," he whispered.

Carol took a couple deep breaths to calm herself before releasing him and sitting up. "Then why?" she asked again.

Daryl looked around the room, avoiding her eyes as he chose his words. "I didn't mean to do that," he started. "To go that far... Then stop. I... Uh... I was gonna finish... Finish you... For you..." he mumbled. "I thought if I did, you wouldn't mind so much..." Daryl's words trailed off.

"Wouldn't mind what?" Carol asked, her voice softer now, watching him struggle to explain.

"Wouldn't mind waiting," Daryl finished, inhaling deeply.

"Why?" Carol asked, finally understanding why he stopped, but not getting the reason behind it.

Daryl flicked his hair from his eyes and spoke. "I've fucked enough women... In cars, in bar restrooms, dingy storage rooms... But that's all it was, fucking." He paused. "I have a chance here, to do it right, with you." His words surprised her and Carol felt the first tingling of tears. "Let me make our first time together special. Please?"

He was asking her. Even after everything, the decision was ultimately still hers. If Carol still wanted him to fuck her he would. "Okay," Carol said, smiling as a tear rolled down her cheek. "But only if you promise..."

"Promise what?" Daryl replied, his own smile of relief appearing.

"That one day you will fuck me in a car, and a restroom, and in some dingy storage room," Carol chuckled. "I've never done that before and Uh.. It sounds sexy as hell."

"Deal," Daryl said as she leaned against his chest once again. "Now how 'bout we finish that talk?"


	10. Chapter 10

Author's note: I'm dedicating this chapter to two very sweet ladies who I absolutely adore! You both know why. Denise and Brigitte, this one is for you!

***All credit to LOST for the Peanut Butter moment that I used. That moment between Charlie and Claire was one I will NEVER forget.

"Daryl, it's just that you're… complicated," Carol started the conversation with a sigh. He was still trying to understand why she didn't just come right out and tell him how she felt.

"I'm complicated? Pfft," he shot back. "You're a woman. Women are more complicated than fuckin'… calculus."

"Ohhh, I loved calculus," Carol chimed in.

Daryl shook his head. "Figures," he muttered with the hint of a smile.

"I wanted you to be the one to say how you felt first I guess," Carol explained. "I thought we would have a better chance of making this work if it was you. But God… you were taking too long. I was running out of patience," she groaned.

"But you had to know… I'm not good at this stuff… talking about how I feel…" Daryl muttered.

"Yeah, but you didn't have to say it," Carol persisted. "You just needed to do something about it – to show me and I would have taken it from there."

"I tried," Daryl sighed. "I always came to see you before I would leave and you were the first person I looked for when I returned. I brought you stuff from runs to show you I was thinking about you."

Carol smiled. "I guess I was just denser than I realized." She thought about the truth of his statement. Any time he would leave the prison for any reason he always came to see her before he left. And if she wasn't there waiting when he returned Daryl would find her. There was always a gift and she always appreciated it, not matter how big or how small. "You did bring me back some pretty sweet gifts," Carol said wistfully.

"I miss doing that," Daryl said. "I'm glad you took some stuff from what I brought back. I get it, but I hate handing everything over like that." He looked at her shyly, "if I find anything special I'll sneak it to you, promise."

"Don't get in trouble… but Daryl, if you find Peanut Butter… I need it. I need it like I need air. I crave it every day," Carol groaned. "The last time I had it was that half jar you brought me back at the prison. This is embarrassing…" Carol said, biting her lip. "But I ate that whole thing with a spoon that night."

Daryl laughed. "I know." He caught her eye, "I looked for more for you every time I went out." A curious look crossed his face, "wait… I completely forgot about this. Will you hand my backpack over?" Daryl asked.

Carol gave him a look, but passed the bag. She watched him dig around inside. "Close your eyes," he said. "Okay, open them, tada," Daryl was holding an empty plastic jar.

Carol wrinkled her brow, "it's empty."

Daryl shook his head. "What? No. Not it's not. It's full." He started to take off the lid and looked at her with excitement. "Full to the brim with stick to the roof of your mouth…" Carol smirked but was fascinated with his game. "Oh God, makes you want a glass of milk… extra smooth…" he said, dipping a finger into the jar. "Mmm," he moaned, putting his finger in his mouth and eating the pretend peanut butter. Daryl looked at her passionately, "That is the best bloody peanut butter I have ever tasted. Want some?" he said, holding the jar out to her.

Carol giggled. This was probably the cutest thing Daryl had ever done for her. She reached in and acted like she was scooping out a huge fingerfull of peanut butter. "Oh my God, you're right," she sighed, playing along. "This is the smoothest peanut butter ever." She knew the look on her face was one of extreme pleasure. "I want more," Carol said.

"Here," Daryl said, pretending to scoop out more on his finger, the same one that had just been in his mouth. He held it out to her and Carol took his finger into her mouth without hesitation. She closed her lips around it and licked at it with her tongue, before very slowly pulling back, releasing his finger little by little.

Carol's heart was pounding as she looked at him. "Thank you," she said sincerely. Carol knew that few people gave Daryl credit for how truly amazing he was. But maybe that was because they didn't get to see the side of him that she did. He had a sweet, thoughtful side that perhaps he reserved only for her most of the time, though she knew even when he was acting like his macho badass self in front of the others, deep down he always wanted to do what he could to make sure his entire family was safe and happy.

Carol was drawn to him and she couldn't stop herself from leaning in and kissing him. When it started to get deep and passionate she pulled back, "sorry. You wanted to wait…"

Daryl caught her face in his hands, halting her retreat. "I want to wait to have sex, don't mean we can't do other things." Carol smiled as their lips met again. It would be torture, she knew it - and it was torture, but they bore it together. They kissed for a long time, Carol moved to straddle him and get more comfortable, but it also gave him more freedom to explore her body with his hands. While he kissed her, Daryl touched her, everywhere he could reach – her ass, her boobs, neck, back, shoulders… He grazed her neck and moved his mouth to the areas he just touched, sucking and nipping, making her toss her head back and groan.

The rest of the day, afternoon and into the evening was filled with passionate moments of erotic torture until one of them would pull away, unable to go any on longer without taking the next step. In between the moments they would talk about the things and people they missed from the past. More so things than people for them both as one thing they had in common was that the new family they had in the apocalypse was far more special to them than most of those they left behind. They would periodically look outside, hoping the Walkers were thinning out, but knowing from the horrible snarling that the herd was still surrounding them.

Carol was quite mortified when she finally couldn't hold her bladder any longer. Daryl hobbled out onto the steps and pissed on the walkers a couple of times, but she obviously couldn't pee over the rails like him. "I gotta go," she muttered.

"Go? Where? I don't think we're going anywhere for a while," Daryl replied, with a yawn.

Somehow she had held it until dark, likely because they really hadn't drank much, trying to conserve supplies. "Go, you know… pee," she hissed.

"Oh…. Oh…" he realized her dilemma. "Uh, well, we ate all the peanut butter, right? You can use that jar and then dump it outside," Daryl suggested.

Carol blushed and shrugged. She knew she didn't really have too many other options. Daryl handed her the jar. "Close your eyes," she demanded, moving as far away from him as she could. "This is so embarrassing," Carol whined, dropping her pants.

"Just go," Daryl replied. "It's not going to bother me." Carol did her business as quickly as she could, feeling her face burn with the sound of her pee filling the jar. She quickly pulled up her pants and rushed outside to dump the jar, then screwed the lid on tightly and left it back in the corner for her next moment of embarrassment. "Come," Daryl beckoned her once Carol was finished. He pulled her into his arms and started yet another make-out session. It was the perfect, painful distraction and Carol completely forgot about what had just happened and lost herself in the feel and taste of him.

When they finally parted Carol took a calming breath. "We should probably get some sleep," she suggested, knowing the sun had been down for a few hours. She helped Daryl lay down and curled up against his back. It was getting a little cool, but at least they had shelter and the warmth of each other.

They woke to some sort of commotion and Carol jumped to her feet to see what was going on. Daryl sat up and rubbed his eyes. While she looked out he was able to get himself up to join her, just as Carol realized what was happening. "No, oh my God, no," she whispered, feeling bile rising in her throat and fighting off the urge to throw up.

"Fuck," Daryl yelled pounding on the glass. "Fuck," he said again. "We should be there… we should be helping them." He made a move to kick the wall in frustration, but his knee gave out and Daryl started to fall. Carol caught him, and was able to ease his fall slightly, but ended up crumpling with him. If the scene outside wasn't so desolate she might have laughed at what just happened, but instead she pressed her face into his chest and started to cry.

The herd hadn't thinned at all. The huge walls were coming down – with their family inside, fighting for their lives.


	11. Chapter 11

Daryl held her and let her cry, but only for a moment. Carol was thankful that he interrupted her moment of pity though - sitting around crying wasn't going to help their friends. "Come on, we have to do something," Daryl nudged her. So as not to seem apathetic he quickly wiped the tears from her cheeks and held her face while he spoke, looking directly into her eyes. "How many rounds do you have?" Daryl asked.

"Uh... Well, the magazine was full, 30 rounds less the shots yesterday. And I have one more in my back pack, so... Just shy of 60 rounds," Carol replied.

"Perfect, and I have 8 or 9 bolts," he said, encouraging her to stand and help him up. "We make every shot count and that's almost 70 less walkers they have to contend with."

Carol was so glad he was with her. Had she been alone Carol knew it would have taken her a lot more time to realize what Daryl just did. Any little bit they could do to help had to be done. 60 to 70 less walkers pushing on the fence could buy so much precious time for those on the other side.

Carol flipped open the glass window then grabbed her rifle. She got into position with Daryl right beside her. "I'll start working on the ones at the fence, further away. You take out the close ones and maybe I can get some of your bolts back later on," Carol said, her mind focussed on the task at hand.

Daryl didn't argue or even hesitate. Before Carol could even fire a round he had already dropped his first walker. Carol lined up each target carefully in her scope. Make every shot count, she repeated in her head. She soon realized if she picked the right angle there were times she could actually take out a couple walkers with a single shot, being they were so densely packed against the wall. But she also had to be careful to aim at an angle where the bullet wouldn't continue right through the fence. It was a delicate balance but to the best of her knowledge there was only one shot from the first clip that missed.

Before scrambling for the second magazine Carol surveyed the scene. The fence was down in one spot and Walkers were pushing inside, but they were entering slowly, as bodies piled up from her work, Daryl's help and those on the inside. Carol could see a lot of people near the breach and was relieved they all had automatic weapons and were firing rapidly. She knew many of those holding guns had likely never fired a rifle before. There would be a lot of wasted ammo, but she would trade all of it to save just one of her friends.

Carol went through about half the remaining rounds, dropping at least 15 more walkers before she shoved the rifle at Daryl and pulled her knife out of its sheath. "Cover me, I'm gonna get some of your bolts back now." She ignored his protests and flew out the door, knowing he would have no choice but to do as she asked. Daryl couldn't go after her so he would have to settle with protecting her from above.

She had scanned the area and knew where at least 6 bolts were. They were close and the majority of the walkers were farther away near the fence. Carol had her knife ready as she rushed down the steps. She lunged and took down a walker that was in her path to the first bolt, stabbing it in the head and withdrawing her knife as it fell. Carol charged for the bolt, put a foot on the dead carcass and pulled it out. She was able to retrieve 3 more before Daryl had to take his first shot.

Carol counted his shots as she gathered all the bolts she could find. When he was up to 10 she decided it was time to head back to safety. She looked at the steps and saw 4 walkers blocking her path, she needed to draw them away and circle around. "Hey," she yelled. The sound of her voice made them start immediately in her direction. Carol stabbed the first and Daryl got another from above. She struck again, but after burying the knife in the walkers head she lost her grip and couldn't pull it back out.

The walker fell taking her weapon with it. Carol was about to make a run for it when she felt something grab her. Immediately she heard a shot. Daryl's aim was true, but as the walker fell to the ground the heavy body took her down with it. Carol was face first on the ground, the dead carcass pinning her, and the last walker still lumbering towards her, snarling hungrily.

She wondered why Daryl wasn't shooting and realized he couldn't. The angle from the tower wouldn't allow him to hit the target. The only way he could do it was to get to the steps. "Fuck," Carol muttered. It was the last walker between her and safety. There was no way she was going to die like that, so close. With a grunt she heaved the body off her back and flipped herself over, holding the handful of bolts she had collected up, as the walker attacked. Carol lifted her foot, catching the walker in the midsection, keeping the snapping teeth away from her body. It was twisting and struggling, reaching for her. Finally Carol said a silent prayer, braced herself and let the walker fall. She had both hands on the bolts holding them steady as they pierced the disgusting creature in the face.

Carol didn't waste any time shoving it off and getting up. She ripped the bolts from the walker's head and ran for the stairs. Another walker was approaching but Carol heard a shot and it fell. She looked up to see Daryl at the landing of the steps, waiting for her. Carol raced to the top into his arms.

Daryl yanked her inside and slammed the door shut. "That is not fucking happening again," he hissed, pulling her tight and holding her against him desperately.

When Daryl finally released her she held out 7 bolts. "At least I got these," she said smiling. "But remind me to get my damn knife when we get out of here."

There were only a few rounds left in her gun so Carol moved back into position and did what she could, while Daryl quickly fired off the bolts she had just retrieved. They were gone again, far quicker than it took her to get them. But surveying the scene Carol realized they were definitely making headway.

Abraham and several others from the expansion camp had returned and were parked in an army jeep, firing from outside the gates. It wasn't long before the sound of gunfire started to slow and eventually stopped. "Oh my God, I think we did it," Carol said, tears brimming in her eyes again, for a very different reason. She reached her arms around Daryl. "I just hope everyone inside is okay." The situation had looked completely hopeless earlier, but somehow they had survived it and only one major fence was down. It could be repaired quickly and easily. But what had gone on inside? Was everyone okay? Carol needed to know.

"Come on, let's get out of here," she said, handing Daryl his pack and slinging hers over her shoulder with the rifle. She took his arm and they made their way out of the tower slowly. Daryl had hurt himself getting to the stairs alone earlier, but he was trying to pretend he was fine. Carol knew better. She made him wait by the tower while she found all of his bolts and her knife and gathered them.

The walk back to the gates was slow. Carol was getting more and more nervous the closer they got. Glenn… Maggie… Rick… Carl… Judith… Michonne… first and foremost they were the most important to her. These were the people she had been with, almost since the start. They were her true family. Abraham, Eugene, Rosita and Tara…. They were new, but she loved them too and Carol prayed they were all okay.

Glenn met them at the gate. He looked terrible – terrified and exhausted. "Oh God," Carol gasped, immediately knowing something bad had happened. "Maggie?" Glenn shook his head and Carol sighed with relief, moving to hug him.

"Carl," Glenn said softly.

"Oh God no…" Carol sobbed. "Is he… Is he?" She felt Daryl's comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Stray bullet got him in the eye. He's in surgery with Denise, right now," Glenn explained. "We don't know a thing. Maggie has Judith and Michonne is trying to calm Rick down." He paused. "It's a fucking mess… Douglas' wife is dead… He's going insane. Rick is with Carl… we have no leader… people don't know what to do…"

"I got this," Carol said confidently. Glenn looked surprised when she whistled loudly and waved everyone over. She started to bark out orders in a commanding tone that surprised even herself. Carol set a crew to work on the fence first, it was the priority. They needed to make sure if more walkers came they couldn't get in. Next she sent a group to gather all their people who had died in the attack and sent more to start digging graves. Carol asked Father Gabriel to start planning a memorial service for all those they had lost. Those that were left were gathering walker bodies to start burning.

"Wow," Daryl said quietly, when everyone was dispersed and working. "I'm impressed."

Carol finally took a deep breath. "Just doing what needed to be done."

Daryl nodded. "So what do you need me to do?" he asked.

"Go to Rick," she said gently. "Give Michonne a break. He needs you."

Daryl nodded again. "And where are you going?"

Carol smiled at him. "Someone needs to supervise."

By the time darkness fell things were starting to return to normal, even though a sadness hung over them all. Fortunately Carol hadn't lost anyone close to her, but others had. Carl survived the surgery and though he would lose his eye, the bullet had missed his brain. He was unconscious, but Denise seemed positive about him making a full recovery.

Carol knew the next day was going to be rough. They would all be attending the memorial for the 8 people they lost. She was completely exhausted as she climbed the stairs to her room. Technically it was Daryl's room she was headed for, but after everything that had happened, she was pretty sure she would never be sleeping in "her room."

Carol felt absolutely disgusting. She was covered in dirt, sweat and walker blood and needed a shower, badly. Daryl wasn't in their room, so Carol assumed he was still with Rick. Glenn and Maggie were home, likely fast asleep after such a horrible day. Carol grabbed her nightgown and clean panties and headed into the bathroom to wash up.

She turned on the water and stripped off her clothes, then stepped into the spray, pulling the curtain closed behind her. Carol closed her eyes and put her face into the water. She sighed, staying like that for a long time. It felt amazing. "Oh," she gasped in surprise feeling someone's arms wrapping around her. Carol instinctively leaned back against him. She knew just by the feel whose arms were around her.

Carol didn't care that they were both naked in each other's arms for the first time. She wasn't the least bit nervous or self-conscious. Daryl wasn't there to make her uncomfortable. And he certainly wasn't there to fuck her. He needed her just as much as she needed him. Carol knew he simply wanted to be close to her. She knew because it's exactly what she needed too.


	12. Chapter 12

"How does it feel?" Carol asked, stretching and yawning in bed. Daryl was pacing the room, testing his knee.

"Hurts," he admitted. "But not as much. I think it's getting better."

Carol sat up, pulling the sheet around her. After their shower the night before they had both got into bed naked. Daryl was dressed, but Carol was still nude. It struck her suddenly that they had both seen each other naked. It wasn't important the night before because they were both too consumed with the need for comfort. Even with the admissions of their feelings, the kissing, Daryl touching her in the tower... Nothing that happened the night before was sexual.

But the morning light brought something different - new feelings and emotions about everything that had happened the day before, their time in the shower included. Carol wondered if that was why Daryl was up and dressed, pacing like he was - trying to get some physical distance between them.

Carol decided that it was best not to bring it up. Daryl had already made it clear that he wanted their first time to be something he planned and she had agreed. No more seducing or pushing. From then on she would follow his lead. But there was the small matter of getting dressed. "Uh, you think you can manage the stairs? Meet me in the kitchen?" she asked.

"Oh, right..." Daryl replied, looking like his usual awkward self. Carol had to admit she was going to miss him getting flustered and bashful when things progressed and he finally got over it. It was cute and charming - so Daryl. It would be very strange at first when his confidence built. "Yeah, got up em fine last night," he grunted, limping towards the door. Carol watched him go. She noted that the limp did seem better, but there was still a limp and she would make sure he didn't push it.

Maggie had baked peach muffins and Carol could smell them the second she started down the stairs. It was so nice to be able to have some of their own supplies and the freedom of making their own meals once in a while. There was always breakfast available elsewhere, but the autonomy was very enjoyable.

"I had to go out to get some eggs this morning," Maggie was telling Glenn and Daryl as she walked in. "It's a mess. People are... Sad. So sad." Carol wasn't surprised. These people had been sheltered for so long. She suspected they were likely terrified as well.

Carol picked up a muffin deep in thought. She needed to see for herself. "I gotta go," Carol said suddenly. She thanked Maggie for breakfast and took off. Carol slowed when she realized Daryl was trailing after her. "Sorry," she said, waiting for him to catch up. "I'm going to see Douglas and then to find Rick. I need to help these people, Daryl."

Daryl sighed and eyed her wearily, "I know you do. Ain't gonna let you do it alone." Carol smiled at him. She knew Daryl wasn't always on board with her innate need to take care of people, especially when it put her in danger. But this wasn't one of those cases and Carol knew he would support her.

They knocked several times on Douglas' door. "Maybe he's still sleeping," a voice called out from behind them. Aaron headed up the walk to join them on the step. "He was fucking losing it yesterday, after Regina... I think Denise finally gave him something to help him sleep."

"He was left alone?" Carol snapped, shoving immediately on the door and barging into the house. "Are you fucking stupid?" She didn't swear much, but she couldn't believe they would leave a man in his state all alone.

"He threatened to kill us or kill himself if we didn't leave him alone," Aaron called, following her in.

"All the more reason for someone to stay," Carol hissed, turning to glare at him. She already knew what they were going to find. The house was eerily quiet. The only mystery was where his body would be and whether he had been smart enough to make sure he wasn't going to turn.

Carol pulled her knife from her sheath and Daryl follow suit, knowing exactly where her mind was. "What... What are you doing?" Aaron stammered.

"You know," Carol replied. "Now I suggest you draw a weapon too and help us find him."

"He's alive, he's just sleeping," Aaron mumbled emotionally, drawing the gun from his waistband. "He's alive."

"I'll go upstairs," Carol offered. "Daryl, check his office, Aaron, you take the other rooms downstairs."

Carol hadn't even made it into the first upstairs bedroom when she heard Aaron scream, followed by a gunshot. She raced back down the stairs and met Daryl in the hallway, outside the master bedroom. He looked at her sadly, confirming what she already knew to be true. "Bathroom," Daryl mumbled. "Cut his wrists." Carol wasn't surprised Douglas was dead, but she was shocked he hadn't shot himself in the head or hung himself to prevent anyone else getting hurt when he turned. "Handcuffed himself to the bar in the tub first," Daryl added. Carol felt a sense of relief with the news. It was comforting to know that he hadn't been too far gone to think of others in his last moments.

"Found this," Daryl added, flipping out a note. "It's addressed to Rick."

Aaron looked like shit when he emerged, but he had pulled himself together somewhat. "I'll send people for his body. Get him prepared with the rest and let Gabriel know we're adding one more to the service later."

Carol nodded and they all exited the house, leaving it as eerily calm as it had been when they entered. They found Rick at Carl's bedside, where he'd been all night. Carol broke the news and offered him the note. While Rick read it she focussed her attention on Carl. He looked so young lying there peacefully. His damaged eye was covered with gauze, but other than that he looked perfect. Carol brushed the hair off his forehead and kissed him, just like she knew Lori would have done if she were there, or Carol would have done if it were Sophia instead. Carl wasn't her son, but he was family and she loved him.

"I'm gonna read this at the funeral today," Rick announced. "I think they should hear it. I think you all should."

Carol nodded in understanding. She hadn't read the note - she would hear it with everyone else. "Listen Rick, I know you wanna stay here with Carl and I think you should... So I was wondering if you would mind me asking all of our group to meet after the funeral?"

"Why are you asking my permission?" Rick replied, tilting his head curiously.

"Because I want to help the others," Carol started. "They've been so sheltered, and they are terrified. We know what it's like out there, but they don't. They got a taste of it yesterday and they are not coping well. I think we need to teach them to survive, but at the same time they really need to get back to normal again - their normal." Carol had thought a lot about the differences between their own normal and the other's normal - it really was night and day. "I want to get them past this and then slowly make them stronger. You're our leader Rick, that's why I'm asking you."

Rick looked at her thoughtfully and nodded, "I will do what I can to help as soon as Carl is better. But in the mean time you have my full support to get our group on board and get started." Carol was relieved he'd agreed. "Oh and one last thing, you never have to ask me for permission. Ever. I appreciate you consulting me, asking my input. But never permission."

Carol left feeling much better about her plan and her ability to help the others with the help of her family. One by one her and Daryl found everyone and asked them to meet after the funeral. As they wandered around Carol was pleased to see that many people were very focussed on their jobs and pushing through, but it broke her heart to see some of the others who could barely function through the grief and terror.

Her heart broke even more for them, listening to the short eulogies that Father Gabriel had prepared for each person they lost. Carol had to give the priest credit, he'd done an amazing job of making each one personal in the short time he'd had to prepare. Carol cried along with the others. Maybe she hadn't known any of those who died well, but she knew what it was like to lose a child, a husband, a friend… She hurt for the survivors because she'd been there, right where they were. She eyed a woman with her son, whose name slipped her mind. Carol knew the husband she'd lost had been abusive, she saw all the signs because she'd been in the same place not all that long ago. Still the woman cried, not because she would miss the abuse, but because she lost something familiar. Carol knew it all too well.

When Father Gabriel finished he called Rick up to speak. Carol simply listened. "I have a letter from Douglas, his last words," Rick started. "I want to read it to you and then speak to it." He opened the paper and started to read, "Dear Rick. I want to start by saying I'm sorry. I'm sorry I'm not as strong as you. I'm not a survivor. You lost your wife too and you're still here, taking care of business. I failed both as a husband and as a leader. It's time for me to pass the torch to someone else, someone who will fight for his people. Someone strong. Someone who protects his family. I want you to lead my people and take care of them like I couldn't do. I wish I had the courage to ask you to do this in person, but I don't. When you read this, I'll be gone. I'm putting my family in your hands. I know you won't let me down. Godspeed, Douglas." Rick closed the paper and looked out at the crowd. "Douglas wants me to lead you, but… I have to decline." An audible gasp could be heard from the crowd and Carol was a part of it herself. Why would he decline? Who would lead them?

"My boy is in a coma and I have a baby girl to take care of. My mind isn't clear from everything I've been through… I'm not in the right place to lead you right now. But there's someone who is. There's someone I've seen grow in the three years I've known her to a powerful, passionate leader." He must be talking about Michonne Carol thought, looking over at her friend. "She does whatever she needs to do to protect her friends and family. She's fearless and she's smart, but she's also compassionate and has the biggest heart of anyone I know." Carol continued to look at Michonne, agreeing completely with what Rick was saying. She felt Daryl brush her hand with his, slipping it inside for a quick squeeze and releasing her before anyone saw. What was that about, Carol wondered. "I would love to be your Sherriff Carol, if you're willing to be our… Governor is a bad choice… how about Mayor?"

Carol heard the snickers from her friends at Rick's governor joke and smiled herself. Wait… what the fuck? Did he just say Carol? She was completely baffled. It must have been a mistake. She must have heard him wrong. Why wasn't Michonne answering? And why was everyone looking at her? "Carol?" Rick asked again. "What do you say? Will you do it?"

Oh God, he is asking me, Carol realized, panicking. What do I say? What do I do? She wondered. They all continued to stare and still she couldn't speak. She felt Daryl's hand on her shoulder. "You okay?" he whispered.

Carol felt like she was going to pass out. "Uh, I think so?" she mumbled back. What do I say? What do I say? What do I say? Carol asked herself over and over. These people needed a leader, she realized. Rick said no. Who else would lead them? Carol had always done whatever she needed to do to keep people safe. It struck her that by saying yes she was just doing what needed to be done, yet again. "I would be honored," Carol spoke calmly and proudly. The panic eased instantly and she looked around at all the faces watching her, some strangers, some family, some she was getting to know and she smiled. These were her people. Carol felt like a Queen.


	13. Chapter 13

Carol wandered the crowd in a daze, collecting hugs and handshakes, introductions and thank yous. It was all extremely overwhelming for her, but she focussed her mind on the purpose of her decision – she simply wanted to help them. Eventually she excused herself as people started to disperse, some going home to mourn, others going back to work and many headed to her house, to find out what the meeting she'd had called was all about.

Daryl had hung back, standing off to the side to wait for her and she was thankful. The rest were already waiting at their place and Carol expected her entrance to be awkward. Indeed it was. There were cheers and clapping, and a lot of hugs. Once again she was overwhelmed by the attention. Carol really did prefer to fly under the radar. I guess that's out the window, she thought.

Once things calmed down she got everyone's attention to start explaining her plan. "I know you guys saw what I saw today," she began. "Those people are not okay. They are a mess. We were there once, a long, long time ago." Carol saw a lot of nodding as she spoke. "If we're going to stay here those people are going to become our friends – some already are," she added, knowing that Glenn had developed a close friendship with Heath and Abraham had made friends on the expansion crew. "We need to figure out a way to help them." She looked around the room. "Eventually, I mean ideally, I would like to teach them to fight and defend themselves… toughen them up. But they're not all ready for that right now. I think what they need, to start, is just to get back to normal."

"What's normal?" Abe piped up, with a chuckle.

"Exactly," Carol nodded. "It's hard for us to imagine what's normal for them. That's why I wanted to get all of us here so we could put our heads together and come up with a plan." She took a hopeful breath, "so who has an idea?"

There was silence for a moment and Michonne spoke up, "you and Daryl could get married… nothing more normal than a wedding." Carol forced herself not to smile as her eyes drifted to Daryl. Anyone but Michonne would have been dead already. His face was purple and he was glaring at her.

"Yeah… Any other ideas?" Carol spoke up, before Daryl blew a gasket.

"Wait," Glenn interrupted. "She might be on to something…" Carol put out a hand to hold Daryl from attempting to strangle Glenn before he finished. "A wedding would be a great distraction, something exciting, something to give them hope… It's about love, and commitment and the future." Glenn had her full attention. "But it can't be one of us, they don't know us well enough yet. If it's them though… it really could work."

"So what do we do?" Tara asked. "Start playing cupid and hope someone proposes?"

Glenn smiled, "I happen to have confidential information that such an occurrence might be happening soon."

"Really? Who?" Maggie asked in surprise. Carol was very shocked she didn't know already. Glenn wasn't all that good at keeping his mouth shut.

"I really can't say…" Glenn replied, still smiling.

"Oh Glenn, just spill it," Maggie pressured. "You must have just found out recently or we'd all know by now anyway."

"She has a point," Sasha chimed in.

"Okay, fine… but it doesn't leave this room," he warned. He looked around like someone might hear him. "Heath asked me if it was still worth proposing to a woman anymore, whether people still made things official."

"Heath? Which one is that?" Abraham asked.

"The black guy," Glenn replied quickly. Tyreese snorted and gave him a look. There were at least 5 other black guys living there. "The one with dreads, glasses… goes with me on runs."

"Got ya," Abe nodded. "Who's his girl?"

"Denise, the doctor," Glenn answered. Carol was surprised. She hadn't seen them together, ever, not even once. "Anyway, he found a ring on the last run we were on… before everything happened. I'm pretty sure he's still planning on giving it to her."

Carol nodded. "Okay, you wanna talk to him Glenn? See if it's happening and if he'd be interested in a big wedding." Glenn nodded. "In the meantime… I think we need to just start getting to know these people better. Invite them for coffee, talk to them, let them see we care and want to make this work. We all need to trust one another before we can become a strong unit." The others were nodding. "We give the ones that need it a week or so to grieve and then we slowly start teaching them all to defend themselves."

"I think some are ready now," Abe spoke up.

"I completely agree," Carol replied. "I have a few in mind and I'll be approaching several of you about doing some mentoring. You guys up for that?" Again she looked around to nodding heads. "Good. Okay, head out and get back to your jobs, but remember to make a point of talking to them. It's really important we get rid of this "us" and "them" thing, or at least diminish it." Everyone started to stand and disperse. "Daryl, Michonne, can you two stay for a minute?"

Once everyone was gone she spoke to Michonne first. "I know you're worried about Carl so I was thinking of having you mentor Denise. Maggie works with her every day, but in that relationship Denise is essentially her boss. I think she might be more willing to learn to defend herself from you." Carol had thought a lot about it. Denise was pretty strong willed and she wasn't going to take direction from just anyone. But Michonne carried herself in a certain way and people saw her as fierce. Not that she wanted to value any person more than any other, but Carol knew they needed a doctor, so she wanted to be sure their doctor could protect herself in case things ever went bad again. "Go spend some time with Carl for the next couple days. Give Rick a break and send him to get some sleep in a real bed. And get to know Denise a bit while you're there," Carol instructed. "I'll speak with her today, and the others eventually, and explain what's going on."

"You're really good at this," Michonne said, with a smile. "You're gonna be a great leader Carol," she added, patting her shoulder before leaving.

"Don't look so damn nervous," Daryl said, when they were alone. "She's right. You're a born leader."

Carol looked at him and shook her head. "I never wanted this," she whispered. The sound of her voice must have alerted Daryl to just how scared she truly was. Carol was brave for everyone but him, with Daryl she was just her. Daryl hugged her and Carol melted against his chest. It was what she had been needing all day – just a chance to drop the ruse and show her fears and insecurities. "I just tripled the number of people I have to keep safe, keep alive," she mumbled again his chest. "What if I fail?"

"You won't," Daryl reassured her. "And you might be the leader, but you ain't in this alone." His words were comforting and she would pull herself together soon. Carol would push all the negative thoughts away, find her inner strength and do what she had to do. But for a few moments she just wanted to be the girl, with the boy she loved. Carol tilted her face up and Daryl knew what she wanted. He kissed her, standing there in the living room where Maggie or Glenn could walk in at any time and see them, where someone could pass the window and look right in… He did it because Carol needed it and that was more important to him in the moment than protecting their relationship.

"Thank you," Carol said when they parted. She was ready to get back to business. Carol took a deep breath and spoke, "you know that kid Noah?" Daryl nodded. He was really good at learning people's names. It had surprised her back at the prison – he was the first to know each and every person who had arrived from Woodbury. "I think he's ready to train. I want you to mentor him. I saw him with a rifle and he's a natural." Carol paused for a moment. "I don't think I'm gonna get back in that guard tower now, and I know you don't want to be up there permanently… So I thought maybe you could take him up and teach him for a few weeks until you're completely healed…"

"A few weeks?" Daryl grumbled. "It's pretty much healed already. More I walk around, better it feels." Carol gave him a look and he quickly resigned. Carol wanted to be sure he wouldn't just reinjure it again right away. "Fine," he muttered.

"Listen, I have an idea for down the road a bit that I think you might like," Carol said, smiling up at him. He looked back at her with interest. "When I went to get my sniper rifle I noticed something in the weapon storage building… There were bows, lots of bows. I think there were even a couple crossbows. I was thinking maybe you could teach a few others to shoot and we could have… a… group… of… archers? What the…?" Carol noticed by time she was finishing up Daryl was full on pouting. It only took a second for her to figure it out. "You like being the archer, the only archer…" she said with a huge grin of amusement. "I had no idea…"

"It's not that," he scoffed. "It's… uh… it's… not just anyone can learn to shoot a bow."

"Oh…" Carol said with a smirk, playing along. "Well what if you hand pick the ones you want to teach and have the authority to switch them up if necessary?"

Daryl narrowed his eyes, he knew she'd one upped him. "I guess," he grumbled.

"You know if I didn't think it was really important I would give in and just let you be our one and only archer in the group, right?" Carol said, laying her hands on his chest and batting her eyelashes at him. "There might come a day that we're completely out of ammo for the guns. Then what? All we have is knives, machetes, swords…. But if we have a few bows and crossbows… they're silent and we can get the arrows and bolts back… you know your weapon is the most practical. More people should already be smart enough to be using them." Carol rubbed his chest. "Will you do it? For me?" Before he could answer Carol kissed him, long and hard, pressing her body against his and tangling her fingers in his hair.

"Is this the way you're gonna get what you want from now on Madam Mayor?" Daryl asked, tucking a curl behind her ear.

Carol laughed, "worked didn't it?" She nudged him, "come on, let's go find Noah and then I have a million things to do."

The rest of the day and evening flew by. When she finally came home Carol was emotionally spent. All she wanted was a shower and some time alone with Daryl to be herself again. As she trudged up the stairs she realized just how much Daryl kept her grounded and how much she was going to need him if she was going to make this Mayor thing last.

Carol wanted to see him, but she couldn't make herself walk past the shower. The bathroom was empty so she stripped and had a quick shower. It left her feeling so refreshed. Carol wondered how she had survived so long without the luxury of coming home to a shower. It was followed immediately by a sense of panic that she was getting soft already. It's a shower, Carol laughed at herself. Nice to have, but if it's gone tomorrow, you'll still survive. She wrapped herself in a towel, gathered her clothes and peeked into the hallway. No one was around so she crept to her room.

Daryl was lying in bed, wide awake, when she entered. Carol tossed the clothes on the floor and wondered if she should just drop the towel and climb in bed or actually put something on. While she was thinking about it Daryl got out of bed and snuck up behind her. Carol felt his arms around her body and looked down to watch his hands release the towel and let it fall to the floor. "Can't seem to sleep anymore without you close," he said softly in her ear.

Carol turned within his embrace to face him, "you sure you wanna sleep?"

Daryl groaned, "I don't want to. But…" Carol trailed her fingertips down his back. Daryl was naked. She was naked. And this time there wasn't anything on their minds to distract from that fact. "My knee is better, but I'm not sure I can kneel…" Carol started to giggle. "What?"

"There are ways…" she said, biting her lip and staring into his eyes. "You don't have to kneel…." Her hands reached his lower back and Carol moved even lower, squeezing his ass. "There are many… many ways…"

"Jesus, Carol… Don't tempt me…" Daryl whined. "I just… fuck, this sounds so damn stupid…" Carol stopped her advance when she realized he was blushing. "I always pictured our first time… you know, like normal, with me on top…"

God he's so adorable, Carol thought, watching Daryl get all bashful. "Missionary," she nodded. "Okay, if that's what you want, we'll wait."

"Missionary," Daryl repeated. "It has a name? Hmm."

"They all have names," Carol laughed, as they separated and both climbed into their own side of the bed.

"They do?" Daryl replied. He sounded baffled. "I mean, I know doggy style… but I think that's the only one… Tell me more," he said, scooting closer until they were spooning.

Carol yawned. It was probably best they were just going to sleep. "Well, there's cowgirl… the squat… 69…"

"Oh yeah, I know that one," Daryl interrupted.

"Of course you do," Carol chuckled. "Um, reverse cowboy… spooning… butterfly…"

"Wait, why do you know all these?" Daryl asked, slipping his chin onto her shoulder.

"I was a housewife, with a small house to clean and too much free time on my hands," Carol explained. "I read. A lot." Daryl hugged her a little tighter and before long she could hear him snoring softly in her ear. Another yawn and she was well on her way to joining him. As she drifted off Carol was feeling far more confident and excited about her new position. Mayor Carol really did have a nice ring to it.


	14. Chapter 14

The next 4 days were the hardest, but most fulfilling days of Carol's life. She took her new role very seriously and made a vow to know every member of their little community by name within a few days. By the time she was heading home the 4th night Carol had done it. Including their group there were 44 residents and she had met and spoke with every single one. She knew which ones had lost family and loved ones in the attack and offered her sincere condolences, she knew what jobs all the residents currently had and was getting a good sense of those happy in their place and those who wanted a change, and she was already starting to learn the group dynamics - who was close to who and who should be separated at all times.

Carol walked home slowly. It was dark and most people had already headed inside for the night. She saw Daryl and Noah come in from the tower over an hour earlier and the gate was locked up tight, with only the night sniper, Josh, watching over things. The slow walk gave her a chance to mull over the events of the last few days before she entered the house and became Carol once again. She left her Mayor role on the front porch and looked forward to just being normal - being herself - once she stepped through the door.

Aaron had suggested that she move into Douglas and Regina's large, beautiful house, but Carol turned him down. It wasn't just the memories the house held, Douglas' unwanted advances and his death by suicide, but the fact that she truly loved her little place with Daryl, Maggie and Glenn, and the ability to just walk into her home and relax with her family.

The things Carol had set in place were really coming along and she was very happy about that. Heath had proposed to Denise and she'd accepted, and with a little encouragement from Glenn and Maggie they'd agreed to allow the whole town to plan a big wedding. Carol would make the announcement in a few more days, once she had an even better sense of the resident's interests and skills to assign tasks.

Daryl had taken an immediate liking to Noah and had nothing but praise for the kid. He was actually enjoying going to the sniper tower every day and teaching Noah. He'd even asked Carol for permission to take the young man into the woods and show him how to track, once his knee was back to normal. Carol noticed he barely limped, if at all, and Daryl hadn't mentioned any pain for the last 2 days. She would force him to stay up in the tower for a while longer, though she suspected he was likely well on his way to being back to 100% already.

Michonne and Denise had hit it off right away. When Carol explained Michonne would be mentoring Denise she seemed very open to the idea and pleased with Carol's choice for her. She noticed them talking and laughing several times and was glad to see Michonne smile. Sometimes they were far and few between with Carol's favourite warrior woman, but when she did smile Michonne lit up the room.

The day before Carl had woken up, finally. He was pretty messed up emotionally about his eye, but physically he was doing great and was home recovering with his family. Rick didn't stray too far, but he at least gave himself a break once in a while. Carol was confident that Carl would bounce back in no time. He was an incredibly resourceful kid, wise beyond his years, and she knew he would be fine - he was a survivor.

Carol waved to Holly as she passed. She hadn't quite figured out who she would partner the woman with as a mentor. Holly was a lot tougher than Carol gave her credit for initially and she decided Holly had a lot of potential to be a huge asset to the group once properly trained. Maybe Tyreese, Carol thought, glancing back as she pondered the idea.

The familiar sense of relief flooded her as she approached the house, but there was a mix of something new. Carol was happy to be home, but there was a sense of foreboding that was really bothering her. Everything was going so well. That never happened for long in this new world they lived in. Was this place special? Carol wondered. Could it be different here? She thought. Or was there something coming around the corner to destroy it all, just like so many times before.

Carol pushed the fears away as best she could and revelled in the pleasure of coming home. The house was quiet. It was much later than she normally came home and it was very likely the others were already in bed. Daryl wouldn't be sleeping, he always waited up for her. Carol smiled, thinking of the night before when she came home to find him reading a cheesy romance novel. "I was bored waiting for you," he'd grumbled when she'd teased him about it. Carol wondered if she would find him finishing the "stupid book" when she got upstairs.

Daryl was lying on his back in bed tossing a tennis ball in the air and catching it when Carol walked in. He missed when he turned his head to look at her and the ball hit his chest, bounced and rolled towards her. Carol bent over and picked it up with a smile. "Bored again?" she asked tossing the ball back. "You know you don't have to wait up for me every night."

Daryl ignored her comments. "What's wrong?" he asked.

Carol thought she'd left it all behind for the night, but obviously not. She sat down on the side of the bed, her back to him and started to undress while she talked. "Everything is going really well, smoothly, almost perfect…"

"And you're waitin' for the other shoe to drop, huh?" Daryl finished for her. Carol sat up from pulling off her boots and socks and nodded over her shoulder. "Can't think like that," Daryl said. Carol could feel the bed shifting as he moved. She didn't turn around, terrified he was naked and knowing that her patience and will power was diminishing more every day. Carol took off her shirt and sat there in her bra and pants rolling her neck and stretching her tired muscles. "We can deal with anything that happens, long as we're prepared. And you're taking care of that," Daryl added the last line as a whisper and Carol felt his hands on her bare neck. She relaxed instantly with a sigh, melting as he massaged her neck and shoulders. "Can you forget about it? Even if it's just for tonight and we'll deal with it tomorrow?"

"Hmm… I guess… for tonight…" Carol didn't catch on right away, but eventually it struck her. "Wait, why tonight? What's going on?" She felt Daryl's mouth on her neck, warm and wet as he sucked on her skin, raising goosebumps down both arms. Carol turned, "tonight? You sure? You're okay?" Once again Daryl didn't speak, he simply found her lips and replied with a sultry kiss. It didn't take long for all thoughts - but how good his tongue felt probing her mouth, gliding over hers - to fleet away completely. Daryl released her and climbed out of bed. It wasn't until he lit the first candle that Carol even noticed them placed all around the room.

"So I ain't good at this romance thing," Daryl mumbled, lighting another candle. "But there's always candles, right?" Carol smiled as the room started to glow. "Couldn't find any rose petals, 'cept fake ones and that just seemed stupid…"

"It's okay," Carol said. "They just get stuck in places you don't want them stuck to." Daryl looked at her and they both laughed nervously. After such a long wait Carol hadn't expected to be as nervous as she was. She figured when it finally happened it would just be one crazy mess of clothing flying and awkward horny groping and grinding. But Daryl had planned this. She hadn't expected planning. She hadn't expected candles or any sort of attempt at setting the mood. No one had done that for her before, or even made an attempt.

Daryl wandered over and stood in front of her. Carol looked up at him. He was bare-chested and barefoot, but was wearing a pair of flannel pajama pants. "I know I said I wanted to do this right," Daryl started. "But I ain't really sure how," he admitted softly. "Promise you'll stop me if I'm doing anything wrong?" Carol nodded. She was certain he would be just fine – she wasn't the one concerned about everything being perfect, though she deeply appreciated the sentiment. Carol would have fucked him a hundred times by that point if he hadn't asked her to wait. "I'm really nervous," Daryl confessed, putting a shaky hand on her cheek.

"Me too," Carol concurred, tracing her finger tips over his belly. "We should just stop thinking so much," she added. "It's not like we've never done this before… we know how everything works…" Carol slipped the tip of her finger just inside the waistband of his pants and moved it from one side to the other. She heard Daryl draw in a sharp breath.

He dropped to his knees, resting his elbows on her thighs, so they were at eye level and he touched her lips again. Carol was quite sure she would never get sick of kissing him. As they continued he rose, easing her back on to the bed. After kissing her a little longer Daryl drew back and lightly brushed his hand down the front of her body stopping at the button on her pants. Carol held her breath.

She had absolutely no control over how fast her heart was racing as Daryl worked down her zipper and tugged her pants off. Bra and panties – that was all that was left. They'd both seen each other naked before but this was different because the purpose of their nudity was explicitly clear. So were Daryl's intentions when he quickly yanked off her panties, pushed her legs apart and sank to his knees on the floor. Daryl tugged her ass closer to the edge of the bed, until his face was mere inches from her. I miss going down on a woman, I miss going down on a woman, I miss going down... His words playing over and over in her mind were interrupted as the rough stubble of his face brushed against the inside of her thighs.

Daryl groaned and she could feel the warm puff of breath tickle her skin as he did. The groan was low and feral. It was a sound she'd never heard him make before but the way her body reacted to it... Carol wanted to hear it again and again. The anticipation of him touching her, licking her with his tongue, was intense and left her panting with desire before Daryl even made contact for the first time. It took all she had to just wait it out and not grab his head and shove it hard between her legs. It was worth the wait for that first slow lick along her slit. "Oh God," Carol whimpered, as her body involuntarily quivered. Daryl repeated the exact slow torture and she felt her core start to throb.

As he started to nibble and suck on her delicate, sensitive folds Carol was already clutching the bed sheets, releasing them only when he gave her a brief moment of reprieve. She felt his fingers touching her, spreading her open before slipping his tongue in deep. No one had ever explored her body so intimately and Carol was struck with the urge to cry with the realization of how special the moment truly was. The way his tongue was wriggling around inside her consumed her attention, holding the tears at bay. "Holy... Daryl... Oh my..." she moaned stilted words amidst the pleasurable sighs.

"Mmm," Daryl groaned, pulling his tongue out and lapping at her like she was a delicious treat he couldn't get enough of. "Fuck, you taste incredible," he said huskily, before pushing his tongue deep inside her once again.

As good as it felt Carol needed him to move higher. "Please," she begged, hoping he would know what she was asking for. Daryl lifted his head and looked at her with a sexy half grin before giving her exactly what she wanted. He found her clit, already swollen with desire, and licked it, lightly, just once, and Carol felt her entire body jump with the contact.

"Easy," he whispered, his mouth still touching her skin. The vibrations of his words drove her crazy. Daryl was gently rubbing the outside of one of her thighs in a soothing motion.

He licked her again and wiggled his tongue back and forth. "Fuck," Carol cried out, unable to hold it in. "Fuck," she said again in a whisper, hoping Maggie and Glenn hadn't heard her. "Sorry," she said as Daryl popped his head up to laugh at her.

"We've heard them enough over the years," Daryl said. "You don't have to hold back."

"But... You don't care? If they know?" Carol replied in surprise.

"They already know. Where do you think I got the candles?" Daryl smirked at her.

"Really?" Carol giggled. She had to admit she was very surprised that Daryl would allow anyone to know, particularly the biggest gossip of the group. "Well in that case..." Carol started, reaching out and gently shoving his head back into place. "Get back to work."

Carol felt his chuckles before he delved back in and resumed his perfect assault on her clit. She didn't bite back the moans and sighs any longer. Carol never had been very loud while having sex, but it was different with Daryl. It felt like the first time she'd been touched certain ways in certain places and she was actually a bit scared she might actually scream when he finally took her over the edge.

It wouldn't be long until they found out. Daryl had slipped two fingers inside her and was drawing them in and out slowly as he continued to lap at her clit. He suddenly increased the pace and drew her swollen knob into his mouth sucking it gently. Carol felt the build as it attacked her entire body, consuming all her senses, making her almost black out with the intensity. The orgasm hit her like an explosion and Carol cried out. She had no idea how loud it was and she honestly didn't give a fuck as the ripple of heat coursed through her from head to toe, culminating around his fingers still buried deep inside her, her muscles contracting against them over and over again.

Daryl must have realized just how intense it was for her because he was staring at her in awe, muttering, "holy fuck." Carol was still trying to catch her breath as he withdrew his fingers. She closed her legs immediately, holding on to the last of the warmth and aching throb he'd left within her.

Carol watched as he lifted his hand towards his mouth. Oh God, he's not going to do that... Oh shit he is, Carol thought, watching him slip a wet finger into his mouth and suck it off, followed immediately by the other. It was by far the most disgusting and the sexiest thing she'd ever seen. The contrast between the polar opposite ways she felt about his act only made it even more of a turn on.

She needed him. The desire to be fucked hit her so hard Carol responded physically with a gasp. As Daryl stood, she sat up on the bed and attacked his pants. Carol had never felt more relief in her life when she saw he wasn't wearing underwear and he was fully erect, cock standing tall, so absolutely perfect and glorious. She wanted to touch him, stroke him, take him in her mouth and suck hard, feeling his dick throb in her mouth. But the need to have him inside her was too overwhelming.

Carol pushed herself into the middle of the bed and lay down. Daryl wanted to be on top, he wanted missionary, so she would give him that. "Now," she whispered, letting her knees fall apart.

Daryl hesitated and she gave him a confused look. "Just want to be sure you're ready, the book said..." he blushed with his admission.

Carol quickly realized why Daryl had been reading the romance novel and she resisted the urge to laugh, worried she would embarrass him further. "I'm absolutely sure," Carol replied. And just to be certain he understood she continued, "I'm very sure that if you don't fuck me right now I will not be responsible for any pain I might inflict on your body."

He nodded, yet still hesitated, "I can't promise this will last very long."

Carol wanted to scream in frustration but he was simply too adorable in his insecurities to be angry. She gave him the most reassuring smile she could muster, "Then we'll just have to do it again, won't we?" Carol watched his face change and felt her heart start to pound once again as Daryl moved into position. She held her breath and waited for that first glorious moment of penetration...


	15. Chapter 15

Carol's body was tense with anticipation, but she somehow forced herself to relax a split second before Daryl pushed into her with a deep groan. It felt as if their bodies had just melted smoothly together as Daryl held the outside of her thighs, his cock as deep into her core as he could go, simply frozen in place, looking at her with awe.

Carol gazed back at him with the same look. There were so many thoughts swirling around in her mind about how it felt both physically and emotionally. Physically there was a feeling of fullness, a bit of stretch, and a burning ache – it was a good burn though. Her heartbeat was a steady thud and there was a dizziness that was threatening her, as all her senses were overwhelmed with stimulation. Emotionally… there was simply too much going on to figure any of it out. Love, lust, desire… a tinge of sadness that something she'd anticipated for so long would be over soon – something that only happens once… a voice on the other side wondering why this hadn't happened long ago… there was comfort and safety, but also fear and a bit of self-conscious worry. It was all too much to think about, particularly while she was fighting the dizziness and her body was yearning for him to move.

Carol wiggled. It just the slightest movement, but it felt absolutely incredible. She saw Daryl suck in air and shudder lightly. He gave her a look that Carol could only interpret as an apology. She knew what it was about and she gave him back a look that said she didn't care. Daryl was very concerned about not satisfying her because he wouldn't last long. But Carol understood completely and she needed him to know it would be okay. "Hey," she whispered. "No matter what… I love you, and that's all that matters."

Daryl leaned over her lips and spoke softly before kissing her, "I love you too." The combination of his words as his breath tickled her lips, the words themselves, the kiss, and the slight movement between her legs again, was almost too much for her to take. Carol closed her eyes and focussed on how good it felt as Daryl finally started to draw in and out of her slowly. Every time he moved back in he pushed deep and Carol whimpered.

She wasn't sure if he would last long enough for her to come, but her body was ready and willing, even so soon after a very intense orgasm. Carol knew Daryl was going slow in an attempt to prolong things, but she needed more – Carol needed to be fucked, hard and fast to achieve the release that was building in her once again. "Faster," she begged. "Fuck me… please….."

It was as if Daryl was simply waiting to hear those words from her. He braced her body and slammed into her, speeding up and driving his dick in and out just like she wanted. "Oh God," Carol cried, squeezing her eyes closed even tighter, unable to control herself from digging her nails into his back, she was so…. So…. Close….

"Fuck," Daryl grunted. His strokes instantly shortened and his body convulsed with pleasure. Carol just needed… a little more… She bucked herself against him a few times and that was all it took. Everything went black and her entire body started to tingle. Somewhere in the middle of the pleasure Carol started to involuntarily cry. She couldn't control it. The tears and the sobs just flew out of her. "Carol? Shit… Carol? What the fuck? Are you hurt? Did I hurt you?" Daryl was in a full panic and pulled out of her quickly.

"No… No… shhhhh," she said, reaching for him and opening her eyes. Carol smiled through the tears.

"What? But why? Why are you crying?" Daryl stammered, still completely freaked out.

"I… I… don't even know…" Carol muttered, brushing away the tears and laughing at the absurdity. "It was good… so good… like never before…" she said between the light sobs that were still coming in time with the last of the throbbing contractions inside her. "I don't know why I'm crying… I'm so happy."

Finally relief washed over Daryl's face. "Uh… did you?" he asked bashfully.

"Yeah," Carol nodded, grinning up at him.

"Oh… good," Daryl replied. Carol wanted to laugh at the look of pride on his face, but she knew how important it was to him so she kept herself in check. His biggest fear was not pleasing her, so the fact he'd made her come twice would be a huge confidence boost for him and Carol couldn't have been happier about that. It was definitely a win-win situation.

Daryl shifted to lie beside her and Carol saw marks on his back. Not just his scars, she had seen them before and they'd been through the emotional talk about where they came from, but little red, swollen marks. "Oh my God," Carol said, sitting up and reaching for him. "Shit, I'm so sorry."

"Huh?" Daryl muttered, trying to see what she was talking about. "Oh, it's fine," he said. "Didn't even really notice."

Carol sighed. She felt bad, but didn't want anything to taint their moment, so she let it go. Daryl lay beside her and Carol reached for his hand. Suddenly something snapped in her mind, somewhere in her unconscious a memory sprang forward. "Did you hear something? When we were… Did you hear a sound? Like a gun shot or something?"

Daryl shook his head. "Nah. But I was pretty distracted." He sat up beside her. "Think maybe you're just overthinking again? Expectin' something bad?"

"Maybe," Carol mumbled. But she couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong or that split second memory of hearing a bang some time ago. She took a deep breath. Daryl was likely right. She was probably just imagining things. "I'm sorry," Carol apologized, feeling like a jerk for tainting their moment with her paranoid thoughts.

"It's o…" Daryl's words were interrupted by a loud banging on the door.

"Carol? Carol? It's Glenn. Something happened… it's crazy out there… we need you." Carol looked at Daryl in shock. Her intuition was right and she must have been right about the gun shot too. Her stomach rolled and she quickly jumped out of bed to get dressed. Daryl was right behind her.

"I'm coming," she called out to Glenn as she pulled on her underwear and felt thankful they never had removed her bra. Any slight disappointment she had felt for her boobs being neglected flew right out the window.

"Uh… Carol? You, uh, might want to bring Daryl too," Glenn called out, obviously a little uncomfortable about the situation, likely knowing he was interrupting their special night. Glenn was waiting in the hall when they both emerged. "I'm sorry," he apologized. "I wouldn't have bothered you… if it wasn't important."

Carol waved it off, "let's go. Fill us in on the way."

Glenn led the way out of the house. "I don't know much. All I know is that Pete is dead and Eugene was the one that killed him."

"Eugene? The fuck?" Daryl replied, saying the exact words that were in Carol's mind. Eugene, though he'd come a long way, was still not much of a fighter. His weapon was his mind and typically that's what he used to help them, not guns or knives.

Glenn shrugged as they walked quickly towards the Anderson's house. "Rick's there… Maggie's with Jessie. And Ron's at Rick's place with Carl and Michonne."

There were a lot of residents standing on their front steps, looking scared, some peeking out their windows, and others were huddled in groups, whispering. Carol couldn't help but feel like everything she had worked so hard for in the last few days just took a huge step backwards. "Hey, we gotta keep tryin'" Daryl whispered to her, obviously noticing her worry.

Carol knew he was right and she knew what her job was. Rick would take care of the situation - she would send Daryl and Glenn to give him a hand – but she needed to calm the rest of the town and get them back to bed. "Hey," she said, stopping. "Go help Rick deal with whatever is going on," she said to the guys. "I've gotta look after this," Carol said, waving a hand around at all the people mingling and looking scared. "I'll come there once I get them calmed down and back inside, okay?"

Daryl and Glenn nodded and took off. Carol started towards the first group and told them everything she knew. It wasn't much, but she promised that everyone would be brought up to speed in the morning. Carol believed it was best to be completely honest about what happened. In such a small community people would find out anyway, and it was simply better to let them know than to allow any hurtful rumours to spread.

By the time she had spoken with everyone who was awake Carol was exhausted. It was late and all she wanted was to find Daryl and take him back to bed so she could sleep in his arms. When she arrived at Jessie's house Aaron and Heath were carrying Pete's body out covered in a sheet. It only took walking into the room and seeing Jessie's face to put together most of what happened. Denise was tending to a split lip and the woman's eye was swollen shut.

Daryl wandered over when he saw her and brought Carol up to speed. "Eugene was out wandering around and he heard Jessie's scream. Peeked in the window and saw Pete using her as a punching bag. He broke in and confronted Pete, they got into it and Eugene pulled a gun. Pete tried to attack him and somewhere in the scuffle the gun went off."

Carol looked at Eugene, sitting on the couch. His cheek was bruised and it looked like his neck was pretty red too, likely from being strangled. But the worst part was the look of sheer devastation on his face. "I'm gonna talk to him," Carol said, touching Daryl's shoulder on her way by, simply because she needed to feel him for comfort.

"Hey," Carol said, sitting beside Eugene. "You doing okay?" Carol already knew the answer to the question, but was hoping he might talk and needed somewhere to start. All she got was a blank stare and a slight shake of the head. Carol reached out and took his hand. Eugene bristled, but didn't pull away. "You did the right thing. You need to know that," Carol said. "Please trust me. I've been where she's been," Carol said, nodding towards Jessie. "You might have saved her life… Ron's life too," she said, referring to Jessie's young son. Carol squeezed his hand. "You did the right thing," she said again with emphasis. It was all she could do for him right then and likely all anyone could do. Eventually he would believe it, he just needed to hear it from people who cared about him.

Carol stood and called Glenn over. "Hey, can you go get Tara. Have her take him home and stay close tonight." Carol knew that Tara and Eugene had developed a very close friendship. They both considered themselves a bit different from the rest and because of that they seemed to have connected and shared a close bond.

Carol wandered over to Maggie and Jessie. Denise had finished and left. Carol squeezed the woman's shoulder in a gesture of comfort and Jessie looked up with gratitude. "Can we talk?" Carol asked. "Tomorrow though. I think you need to get some rest right now." Jessie nodded. "I know what you're going through. I've been exactly where you are. My husband… he died early on. And he deserved it," Carol added, looking right into Jessie's eyes, speaking with conviction. "But it doesn't make it any easier at first." She took Jessie's hand and squeezed it. "We'll talk more tomorrow."

"I'll stay with her tonight," Maggie offered.

"Thank you," Carol replied, grateful that everyone was pulling together in such a sad time.

People were starting to disperse slowly. Carol yawned as Rick approached with Daryl. "Go home, get some rest," Rick said to them both. "I think it's a pretty open and shut case of self defense," Rick offered. "It'll take time for everyone to get over it, but I see no fault in what Eugene did and I think Jessie will agree." He looked over at Jessie and then Eugene. Tara had arrived and was getting him up to leave. "I'll keep Ron for the night, hopefully Michonne got him to sleep anyway."

Carol nodded. "You want to make a statement with me in the morning?"

"Course," Rick agreed. "You're doing a great job Carol," he added. She didn't realize how much she needed to hear that until he said it.

"Thank you." She glanced at Daryl and smiled. "I'm tryin'."


	16. Chapter 16

When Carol woke in the morning she really wanted to just roll over and go back to sleep, but that all changed when she glanced at Daryl. His legs were all tangled up in his blanket and it was tucked up tight to his chin, but his bare ass was completely exposed. It was going to be a long day, yet again, and their night had been cut short, so Carol felt no guilt whatsoever as she reached out and gently rubbed his bum, knowing that actually making it out of bed was about to be delayed for a bit.

Daryl groaned sleepily and stirred but didn't wake so Carol slid over, lifted his blanket and pressed her warm naked body against him. Her breasts were pushed up against his back and his ass was tucked comfortably into her lap. She slipped her arm over him, reaching around until she found his package. Carol smiled when she discovered he was already stiff - not hard, but that wouldn't take long. She could feel it happening already as she held his cock in her hand. All it took was her touch, without even a stroke or rub.

Carol understood, because she could feel her own desire start to build when she first saw his ass, though by that point she knew she was wet and ready, slick and already aching to be filled. Daryl stretched and sighed, rolling onto his back as Carol slipped out of the way, still gripping his dick. She sat up, watching his face as his eyes fluttered open, wanting her smile to be the first thing he saw. "Mmm, good morning," he said, returning the smile with a tired, lazy grin. His eyes wandered to her hand, wrapped firmly around his erection, and then back up to her face. "Whatcha doin?" he asked, knowing full well what was about to happen.

"Well, it seems to me that you got what you wanted last night, so, I got to thinking that maybe I would call the shots this morning, hmm?" Carol's tone was flirty, but stern in a sexual dominant sort of way that she honestly didn't even know she had in her. She wondered if she would be able to keep it up. It was a little easier with Daryl, knowing how shy he was, but it was still new for her. He gave her a little shrug that said he was willing to do whatever she wanted and Carol slipped a leg across his midsection, straddling him at the thighs. Carol stroked him a few times, slow and easy, feeling his dick pulsate in her hand.

Holding him at the right angle Carol moved forward and lined herself up. She took Daryl inside her, just barely, just the tip and watched his face change. She continued to look at him as she slid down, sheathing him completely. The look of pure bliss and raw desire was so erotic, so enticing, that Carol had to look away to compose herself. She rode him slow and gentle to start. Carol knew this was a position she was quite skilled at. Ed was a fucking lazy ass and 90% of the time he expected her to climb on and do all the work. Carol made sure she got really good at it so it would be over quick. The other 10% of the time he would force himself on her as if practically raping her was supposed to be some sort of turn on.

This was the first time Carol really felt her skills were being put to good use. The deep moans and sighs coming from Daryl seemed to confirm her theory. It wasn't long before he was gripping her hips, letting her know she needed to take it easy. Carol stopped moving on him and leaned forward to kiss him, her breasts falling against his chest. As they kissed Daryl found her boobs and held them in his hands. Carol had always been a bit self-conscious about their size, but Daryl instantly made her feel better. "Fuck, you have no idea how long I've wanted to grab these," he groaned after she broke the kiss and sat up to give him better access. "They're perfect," he added, flicking her nipples. The pressure between her legs increased as he teased her areolas, drawing her nipples into stiff peaks. Daryl shifted and pushed himself up to suck on her tits. He licked and played until Carol couldn't take it anymore. It was time. And she needed to be fucked, hard, fast and deep.

"Come," she said, sliding off him and pulling him out of bed. She led him to the end and climbed on the bed in front of him on all fours. Carol held her ass high, waiting for him to plunge into her. She looked back over her shoulder, "don't be gentle."

The thing Carol loved most about their relationship was the way they understood each other so easily and so deeply. They could speak without words and finish each other's thoughts and sentences quite often. She was curious if those qualities would transfer to their sexual relationship. After Daryl was finished with her Carol knew for certain they had. He did exactly what she wanted, making her come just before he followed. Daryl might have been lacking confidence about his skills, but it certainly didn't keep him from pleasing her in ways she'd never experienced… and it was all still new for them.

Carol flipped onto her back and Daryl flopped beside her. "Can we just stay here all day and night and day…" Carol sighed.

Daryl snorted, "I wouldn't be opposed to that, but others might." He took a deep breath. "If this is too much, you can ask for help ya know," he said gently.

"I know," Carol agreed. "Rick… Aaron… they help." She rolled, "but what I really need is right here. You. I need someone to come home to. Someone who makes me feel like Carol, not Mayor." She laughed. "It still sounds so damn ridiculous. Mayor. I guess that's the best option. But it just…" she shook her head.

"Suits ya," Daryl teased.

"Ugh," Carol groaned. "We really should get up and get dressed. I promised I would fill everyone in… Rick's likely waiting." She reluctantly got up and started to dress.

And so began another day in her new life.

The remainder of the week was rather seamless. The meeting went well, the funeral or lack thereof was over, and Jessie was ready to start healing. Carol did go meet with her the next day as promised and decided that she would take Jessie under her wing and be her mentor. It worked well because Jessie needed time to get her head together and Carol needed time to get things running smoothly once again. As she started spending more time with the young woman Carol noticed that there was something brewing between her and Eugene. They seemed like an unlikely pair and Carol had no idea if it would work out, but Eugene was Jessie's hero and really, all women wanted a hero. Carol had her own hero, but liked the fact that she was able to save his life a time or two as well. Once she trained Jessie, she had no doubt that she'd be saving Eugene's ass.

Carol spoke with Denise and Heath on the weekend and they agreed that Monday morning would be okay to announce the wedding idea. Carol was still getting used to knowing what day it was and following a calendar system once again. It wasn't perfect and they weren't positive they had the exact date, but Douglas had made a point of celebrating holidays so they introduced the system early on and had kept it up.

Monday would bring a lot of changes, Carol decided. It was time to really get the defense training going, along-side the wedding planning. She decided the two would complement each other, in that, while the wedding planning would be fun, normal and distracting, the defence training would be tough, different and possibly stressful for some. Knowing how important normalcy was to most of the town Carol believed that both tasks were equal in necessity and it just made sense to really get started with both at the same time.

Sunday afternoon she found Daryl in the watch tower with Noah. "Can I borrow you for a bit?" she asked.

"Yeah, sure. He's got this now anyway," Daryl nodded towards Noah. Carol noticed that they both had a look of pride and she hid a smile. "What's up?" Daryl asked as they headed back inside the gates.

"Taking you to look over those bows and crossbows, see how many we've got," she said, glancing sideways at him. "You're starting your classes tomorrow, so you'll need to start picking out your students. Figure we should know how much equipment we have first, huh?"

"Hmm, I thought maybe you forgot about that," Daryl grumbled as they entered the stores. Carol just laughed and led him to the back where she'd found all the bows and arrows, crossbows and bolts. She grabbed one of the crossbows and lifted it like she was aiming to shoot something before smiling and handing it over to Daryl to inspect. He had a strange look on his face and she shot him a curious glance. "I know you really want me to do this," Daryl started. "And I agreed… But I have one more, uh… term… that you have to agree to before I officially say yes."

Carol folded her arms and narrowed her eyes. "Are you seriously negotiating with _the Mayor,_" she asked. Carol was kidding, she would never pull rank with Daryl of all people, but the flirtatious aspect was fun.

"Yeah, I am," he countered. "Whatcha gonna do about it?" Daryl asked, stepping closer. Carol took a step backwards, but realized she was trapped.

"Get my Sherriff to arrest you?" Carol replied, smirking at him.

"But if I'm in jail… who would do this?" Daryl asked, setting the crossbow on the floor and leaning in to kiss her. He pressed his body against hers, backing her up against the wall. Carol let him explore her mouth, enjoying the feel of his tongue gliding over her own, and the pressure of his hard, lean body. She let Daryl continue until they were both to that point where they either had to stop or they wouldn't be able to, before she pulled away.

"Okay, you have my attention, what's your final stipulation?" Carol asked, squeezing out from behind him, trying to compose herself by putting some distance between them.

She picked up a second crossbow and looked it over, waiting for him to speak. When she looked up he was giving her a very smug and satisfied smirk. Carol got the sense she was about to be played. "You said I get to pick who I want to train," Daryl said, with a mischievous glean in his eyes. "So… the first person I choose… is you."


	17. Chapter 17

"That is so not fair," Carol whined, crossing her arms. "I'm so busy, and I'm mentoring Jessie, and..."

"Well it's a good thing I'm choosing her for my group too then, ain't it?" Daryl said with a smirk.

"You just decided that now," Carol replied with a harmless glare.

"You don't know that," he countered, still smirking. "So we got a deal?"

Carol sighed, "come on, I don't need training, I can already shoot a gun perfectly fine. Actually, I'm amazing with a rifle." Carol tried one last time to talk him out of it. "You should train people that really don't know how to use any weapon."

Daryl shook his head, "You said yourself that it would be great to have more people shooting weapons with reusable ammo. It's a lot easier to hit a target with a gun and you have way more range. But someone like you, who's already a great shot... You're the perfect person to train with a bow."

"Crossbow," Carol corrected him. "If I'm gonna do this you're training me with a crossbow and I'm gonna be even better than you when we're through," she said smugly.

"Somehow I don't doubt that," he chuckled. Daryl looked over the options and picked one up. "You'll use this one," he said, handing it to her. "If I wasn't so attached to the one I have this is the one I would choose." Carol noticed he was practically drooling over it. "I'm getting a boner just looking at it," Daryl added, grinning at her. Yay, we made it to the sex joke stage, Carol thought, fighting off a giggle. She'd been doing it to him for a long time, but finally Daryl was upping his game.

"Shame to waste that," Carol replied, giving him a sassy look. In two seconds flat Daryl was on her. Carol scrambled to set the crossbow down, so she didn't drop it, and had her hands free. Daryl had her pushed up against the wall and was groping her hungrily, grabbing her ass, pulling her leg up against his hip so he could grind against her. It was lusty and crazy, incredibly impulsive too, but it just turned her on even more. The ammo stores wasn't a busy place, but the door wasn't locked and anyone could walk in at any time, which just added to the urgency.

Daryl was fumbling with his pants with one hand and hers with the other, all while he continued to kiss her desperately. Carol had no idea he could actually multitask so well and made no move to help him, curious if he could do it all without her. While she was lost in his kisses Daryl somehow got her pants down, his dick out and was trying to figure out the best way to fuck her as fast as he could.

He lifted her and moved to a desk where he set her down, only long enough to get her legs apart and get inside her. Daryl had a wild superhuman strength that came out with his passion and urgency. It was strange and slightly awkward with her thighs around his waist, but her pants still hanging around her ankles, binding them together. She would have had to get her boots, or at least one of them off to be able to spread her legs properly, but there was no time for that.

When he started to fuck her, using the narrow desk and wall for leverage, Carol forgot about the tangled mess her pants were making and enjoyed how good it felt. There had never been a time, that she could remember, when she'd been fucked so desperately and actually wanted it like she did right then. It was so different than their other times, with the thrill of getting caught and the pure animalistic urges they were both feeling.

Carol clutched his shoulders and pressed her face into Daryl's neck when she felt herself getting close. If she was too loud people outside nearby could hear her and come in to see what was going on. She fought hard and clung to him, staying quiet while she enjoyed the release. Carol watched his face as Daryl continued to fuck her. His hair was a mess, falling into his eyes wildly as he pounded her over and over. Carol couldn't resist pushing it away so she could look into his blue eyes. They were dark with lust and there was a look of feral insanity that started a hot rush low in her belly once again.

Daryl gazed back at her until suddenly his face shifted to a look of utter bliss and he squeezed his eyes shut. His strokes shortened and eventually stopped completely, but he continued to cling to her hips for a while longer. Carol was still catching her breath when something caught her eye. "Oh shit," was all she got out before the door flung all the way open and someone walked in.

"Oh God… no… oh… fuck…. Shit…" Glenn shielded his eyes and turned around immediately. "Dude, I did not need to see your ass today… Or ever really…" Daryl looked absolutely horrified as he pulled out and scrambled to tuck himself back into his pants, making sure to keep her shielded as he did. Carol quickly pulled up her own pants and did them up.

"What the fuck do you want?" Daryl growled at Glenn.

"Ammo," Glenn replied, turning around. "I think that's what you're supposed to come here for." Carol caught Daryl's arm before he lunged. "Relax," Glenn said, stepping back. "It's not like I didn't know. Everyone knows. Well maybe not everyone. Okay, maybe just Maggie and I… but they suspect it. It's pretty obvious with that goofy look you get when she's around."

Carol snorted with laughter and Daryl looked back and forth between her and Glenn, like he didn't know which one of them to kill first. "Get the shit you need and get out," Daryl ordered. Glenn grabbed a box of bullets, smiled and nodded and took off.

"Do I look goofy?" Daryl asked her as the door clicked shut.

"Of course not," Carol soothed him. "You look… very… manly. Fierce. Strong."

Daryl knew he was being coddled and a grin crept onto his face. Carol returned to the crossbow and picked it up. She lifted it to her shoulder and Daryl groaned. "I'm rethinking this idea now." He wandered over to her. "I don't know how I can focus on teaching you when you look so damn sexy holding that." Daryl came up behind her and reached around her body, adjusting the weapon. "First lesson, you don't have to dig it into your shoulder like a rifle, there's no recoil. You can relax a bit, keep it close to your chin so you always have the same line when you shoot." Carol could feel the heat from his body and wondered how she could be so turned on again. The memories of what had just happened between them were still swirling in her mind and Carol couldn't help but want it again.

If she let Daryl continue much longer she didn't know if she could control her urges to have him again so she pulled away. Carol cleared her throat, "We should finish looking these over and get outta here."

Daryl understood, "Yeah, probably a good idea." They decided there were 4 bows and 2 crossbows besides the one Carol had claimed. That meant he still had to find 5 more people to join his training group as Carol had agreed to speak with Jessie. "I'd like to ask Noah," Daryl said. "But I know the kid's got really good with a sniper rifle. I think that tower is where he should be." Carol noticed the fondness in Daryl's voice when he spoke about Noah and she recognized it immediately. It was the way a parent speaks of a child. Noah was a teenager who had lost his entire family. Daryl was a man who had never had a real father figure. It actually made a lot of sense. Carol didn't say anything, just filed it away in her heart. She would talk to him about it one day. One day when she felt like she could talk about what it was like to be a mom to Sophia. That woman she was back then might have been gone, but once you're a parent that never changes, it's a part of you that never goes away.

Daryl had come so far since they first met and he continued to develop and grow before her eyes. Who would have thought that the angry redneck she met back at the quarry would one day become a teacher, a mentor, and perhaps even a father figure? Who would have thought he would end up her best friend, her confident and her lover?

"You look weird," Daryl said, snapping her out of her mind.

"Sorry," Carol shook her head. "Just thinking about some stuff… things…"

"Are you okay? You ain't worrying something bad's coming again are you?" he looked concerned.

Carol gave him a reassuring smile. "No, nothing like that. I'm fine. Come on, let's go." Daryl seemed to accept it and followed her out. They parted ways so he could go pick out the rest of his group and Carol went to find Jessie. She explained the training and that Daryl would be teaching them both. Jessie seemed excited.

Carol spent the rest of the day wandering through town inviting everyone to meet in the morning for a big announcement. Her original Atlanta group knew what it was all about, but the others didn't and it was creating a buzz of excitement that made Carol really happy. She hoped they would all be happy about the wedding and enjoy being a part of that. She also hoped they would be receptive to the weapons training. There were a few kids, young kids, and it was Carol's belief they should be trained as well, but she wasn't sure their parents would agree.

She had an idea to remedy that and took off for Rick's house. Carl still didn't come out much, but every once in a while he would make an appearance. He'd already promised her earlier to come to the meeting the next day. When Carol walked inside the house Carl was playing with Judith, just like any big brother would, but this big brother had a gun holstered at his hip and a knife sheath attached to his belt with a large hunting knife in it.

"Hey, I need a favor," Carol said to him, with a smile.

Carl shrugged, "What is it? I'll do my best."

"You remember back at the prison, when I was teaching the kids about knives and I begged you not to tell your father?" Carl nodded. "I was wrong to hide what I was doing. And I know you told your dad." Carl looked worried. "It's okay, you did the right thing," Carol soothed him. "I should have asked their parent's permission. But I just didn't want to risk them saying no." She took a deep breath. "We're gonna have a similar situation here soon and I was hoping you might be willing to help me with it," Carol said gently. "You agree that these kids need to learn how to fight, how to kill walkers... right?"

"Of course," Carl replied, his hand absentmindedly reaching to touch the gun at his hip.

"Good. Because I want you to talk to their parent for me and convince any that are on the fence that it's the right thing to do," Carol said, looking at him, staring him straight in the eye, ignoring the patch that covered his damaged eye.

"You want me to do it?" Carl stammered. "Why me? I probably can't even aim right anymore," he muttered, looking sad.

"If you didn't know how to fight how many times do you think you could have died by now?" Carol asked him.

Carl shrugged, "Too many to count."

"And if your dad hadn't allowed you to carry that gun? You think you'd still be alive?" she added.

"Probably not," he nodded in agreement, following her train of thought.

"Adults can only do so much to protect their kids. Tyreese wouldn't be alive today if it wasn't for Lizzie and Mika saving him," Carol got the girls names out without breaking down and it was the first she'd spoke of them in a long, long time.

"Okay, I'll do it," Carl agreed.

"Thank you," Carol said, squeezing his shoulder gratefully.

She turned to leave but Carl spoke again, "Hey Carol… uh… don't tell my dad I said this, but you're a really good leader. Probably better then him. Maybe just different, I'm not sure. But he's a good cop and you're really good as Mayor."

It didn't matter how many adults told her she was doing a great job, their words would never hold as much weight as what Carl just said to her. The words and innocence of a child always seemed to hold more truth. Carol wished with all her heart that Lori was there to see what an amazing young man her son turned out to be. She smiled before the tears started. "Thank you," she said genuinely. "Your secret's safe with me."


	18. Chapter 18

Two months. It was exactly two months from the day she announced the wedding and the big day had finally arrived. No one plans a wedding in two months, right? But they did. The whole town banded together and prepared absolutely everything in 8 weeks. It was a beautiful Monday morning. Who gets married on a Monday? Carol had heard a few people say. Denise and Heath do. And in this new world, did it really matter?

Carol was up early - the sun had just started to make its appearance. She'd left Daryl sleeping soundly in bed. He'd worked so hard the past few weeks. Not only was he still doing his bow and crossbow training, but he'd started going on runs again and he'd also started hunting, taking Noah with him at least of couple times a week. During the training Rick had found Carol two more people who could be trained as snipers, so they actually had a rotation of 4 of them in the guard tower now, which meant Noah had some time off to head into the woods to hunt and track with Daryl.

There were a lot of things they needed for the wedding and the run specialists had been absolutely amazing at finding and gathering them all. Carol had felt guilty at first and almost put a nix on wedding specific runs. But it turned out that the runs brought back other supplies they needed as well, and both Glenn and Aaron assured her they would be cautious and not take any unnecessary risks – just the same as any other trip outside the walls. It still didn't always sit well on her conscience when they were returning with suits, tuxes, elegant dresses and even a few stunning wedding gowns for Denise to choose from.

Carol knew when it all came together that afternoon it would be absolutely worth it. The whole idea had worked even better than she could have hoped for. Both the wedding and the training. In two short months the distinction between "us" and "them" was all but gone. They were one big group and both previous sides now trusted each other completely. Carol's prison family would always be just that – family. But she had a lot more friends now; people she would do anything to protect.

Even though everything had gone very smoothly Carol still had her moments of doubt and nights she would come home and just break down. It was her relationship with Daryl that got her through those times. He understood her, perfectly, and knew what she needed to hear. It was Daryl, so she wasn't getting long flowery monologues or pep talks, it was often just a sentence or a few words, but it worked. Sometimes it was no words at all, it was a night of lovemaking, leaving them both exhausted the next day. Other times it was a hug, a squeeze of the hand, or even a simple peck on the cheek in the presence of others.

They had never come right out and declared their relationship, but people knew. She overheard a group of ladies jokingly calling Daryl Mr. Mayor. Carol had giggled and decided she would keep that to herself. Their sex life was still sizzling. Carol wondered how long the urge to fuck him every time she saw him would last, but there was still no end in sight. And Daryl was the same. They had more than a few moments like the time Glenn caught them. That had still be the only time they had been caught, but the risk of someone walking in like he had was always there.

One day after the group training session, once the others had gone back inside the gates, Daryl led her off into the woods and fucked her up against a tree. Carol had scratches on her ass afterwards. She didn't even realize it until she went to sit down to talk to Rick and it hurt like hell. It was a bit of an awkward situation, trying to come up with a good excuse as to why she couldn't sit. "I… uh… slipped on the stairs the other day," she'd stammered, her face burning. "Hurt my tailbone… thought it was better, but I guess not…" Rick looked rather skeptical.

Carol almost killed Daryl a couple days later when she found out that he'd told Rick the truth. "Now I know why he was smirking at me. You ass," she'd hissed at Daryl, attacking him in bed… which only led to yet another encounter.

As Carol wandered through the town, with everyone still sleeping peacefully, she said a silent "thank you" to the lord for bringing them all to this place. Even though she still couldn't let go of the feeling that something bad would happen eventually to destroy everything they had worked for, at least they had got to rest for a while and she was so thankful for that. They hadn't lost anyone since Jessie's husband was killed by Eugene. And that was almost 9 weeks earlier. That hadn't happened in such a long time.

Carol thought about all the people they had lost most recently… Beth, Bob, Lizzie, Mika, Hershel… And some of those they had lost before… Andrea, Lori, T-Dog… And those early on… Dale, Amy, Jacqui and of course, her sweet baby girl, Sophia. There were others, so many others. Some deserved it like Ed, Shane and the Governor. But others, might have had a chance to be different like Merle. There wasn't one person in their group that hadn't been affected by the devastation of losing a loved one.

But now they had this sense of security that was strange and terrifying for some, yet completely normal and a way of life for others. They had somehow made it work. Somehow all these strong, willful personalities had mixed together to create a community. It was beautiful and Carol was very thankful to be a part of it.

Aaron had asked her recently if he could start recruiting again. She was hesitant at first because everything was so perfect. But Carol realized that they had to think about the long term. There weren't that many children and eventually they had to start thinking about the future. She wasn't ready to go there yet, but adding a few people to the mix, here and there, wouldn't hurt, so she agreed that after the wedding he could start going out and following groups, looking for suitable people to join their town.

Carol jumped when a set of arms wrapped around her from behind, bringing her back to the present. She relaxed immediately, when she recognized the embrace. "What are you doing up?" she said, leaning back against him. "I was letting you sleep in."

"You know I don't sleep well without you beside me," Daryl whispered in her ear. Carol smiled and quietly enjoyed the hug for a few minutes as they both watched the sun move higher into the sky. "Are you excited?" he asked.

"I am," Carol replied. It was the truth. There was a gorgeous dress and a slinky pair of high heels in her closet beside a charcoal suit. She wasn't sure if she was more excited to get into her dress or to see Daryl in a suit.

"I have a surprise for you," Daryl said softly. "Actually I have two. One right now and one you'll see later." Carol turned around. She was used to him bringing her back little surprises from runs but she wasn't expecting anything then – it had been several days since he'd last been out for supplies. "Maggie told me that your dress needed just the right pair of earrings to go with it…" Daryl pulled something out of his pocket. "I found these in a house. They were in a safe that was left open… must be expensive," he smiled and held them out to her.

Carol gasped. The diamonds caught the first rays of sunshine and sparkled like disco balls. They were absolutely stunning. "Holy shit," she said, taking them. "These things probably cost more than the house I used to live in." The earrings were breathtaking and her hand was shaking, just holding them. There was something special about them, even beyond the fact that they likely cost a fortune. It was as if they were waiting to be found and for someone to wear them on the perfect occasion. "Thank you," she said, hugging him quickly. "They are… just right."

Daryl stayed with her while Carol continued her stroll through town and even held her hand until people started waking up and emerging. She bit her lip to keep from laughing when he shook her hand out of his when he spotted Abraham. Carol didn't mind. She just enjoyed the fact that Daryl did hold her hand once in a while.

As the town woke up they eventually separated to get to work on all the preparations for the day. Daryl was helping set up chairs for the ceremony, and the tent, tables and chairs for dinner and the reception. Carol was checking all the last minute details like decorating, making sure the meal was cooking and she wanted to see what Jessie had done with the cake. Jessie used to make cakes for her family and friends birthdays and anniversaries, so she offered to attempt a wedding cake. The cake was impressive. It was gorgeous and looked like a cake you would see at a wedding, made by professionals.

Carol couldn't get over the talented individuals they had in their town. There was even a tailor who made sure all their dresses and suits would fit properly. Aaron had brought back a couple sewing machines and supplies and set up a little shop for her. They had amazing cooks who were preparing several venison roasts from deer that Daryl and Noah had brought back. They even had a pianist who was going to play music for the ceremony on a keyboard Glenn found.

Carol spent the morning making sure everything was perfect, before heading home in the afternoon to shower and change for the ceremony. When she got home she noticed Daryl's towel was wet. He must have been here and showered already, she thought. When Carol went in her room to get dressed she noticed that his suit was gone too. Hmm, she shrugged. Carol had been expecting they would dress together. Luckily Maggie was in the bathroom curling her hair when Carol needed help with her zipper.

The ceremony was less than 40 minutes away, so Carol took one last look in the mirror and headed out to find Daryl. She loved seeing everyone dressed up as she walked toward the far end of town, where the ceremony would be held. She didn't see Daryl anywhere at first, until something caught her eye and she did a double take.

"Oh my God…" Carol whispered as Daryl walked towards her. She almost didn't recognize him at first. She was expecting the suit, anticipating it even. And it fit him perfectly, as if it was made for him. He looked incredibly handsome, with his broad shoulders and the tailored suit jacket. Carol felt her knees go weak, just looking at the gorgeous man, staring at her as he continued in her direction.

Yes, the suit she was expecting. It was something else she was not. "Surprise," Daryl said, standing directly in front of her. Carol reached out and touched his hair, or what was left of it. It was short, just like she remembered from the first time she'd seen him back at the quarry. She'd never asked him to cut it, not once, even though she had really wanted to when she saw Rick, Glenn and the others getting trims. It made him look so much younger, especially since he'd also shaved and his face was smooth and boyish.

Carol smiled. She looked into his eyes and said the first thing that came to mind, "God Daryl… I just love you."


	19. Chapter 19

_Today is my birthday and this is my gift to you guys! I have completed this fic and I present to you the conclusion. It's always rewarding and sad all at the same time to finish one and this is no different. I had no idea when I started this just how much incredible support I would get. You guys have been AMAZING! The feedback, the followers, the favourites and just the number of views alone have overwhelmed me like I can't even express. Thank you. Thank you so so sooooo much!_

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Carol wiped another tear as she watched Heath and Denise profess their love, with Father Gabriel officiating the ceremony. She snuck a glance at Daryl and smiled. Whether he would admit it or not, he was crying too. His sentimental side used to surprise her, but not anymore. It became a comfort to her because through everything, all the loss and pain and devastation, Daryl never hardened. Not once had he come close to losing his humanity.

Without looking at him Carol reached out and gave his hand a quick squeeze. It said that she knew he was crying too, but his secret was safe with her. The squeeze back he gave her was simple, it said 'I love you.'

Carol ignored the ceremony and took a moment to look around. She and Daryl were seated near the middle, so she couldn't very well turn around to look behind her, but she studied those she could see in her row and ahead.

Rick and Michonne were beside Daryl. Carl had been with them at first, but Judith was far too fussy to sit still for the nuptials. He had taken her off to let her toddle around and play. Carol could see that Michonne's eyes were wet too and wondered what she was thinking about. Carol's eyes flicked to Rick and she truly hoped Michonne was thinking about the sheriff. To the best of her knowledge they were officially no more than friends, but there was something more there and it was growing every day. She suspected lingering memories of Lori and unresolved guilt was the hold up, because it certainly had nothing to do with Rick's children. Carl and Judith both adored Michonne and likely looked at her as a mother figure already. It would work out someday – someday soon Carol decided, with a hint of a smile and a feeling of confidence.

Tara was sitting across the aisle with Eugene and Jessie. Carol had become very fond of Tara. She was a breath of fresh air and whenever Carol was feeling down it only took about 5 minutes with Tara to turn her around. For a young woman who had lost so much in her short life she was truly a special soul. Carol knew it had to be difficult to be surrounded by so many couples and not even have a single romantic option available since all the unattached females were apparently heterosexual, given the way they ogled Daryl and Rick. Carol would allow Aaron to start scouting again soon, so maybe the right woman would come along for her.

Jessie was another person who had become very special to Carol and it delighted her to see what was developing between her new friend and Eugene. They were both unique individuals with their own sad stories but somehow this strange world had brought them together when they both needed it most. Carol felt that damn stupid pang of doom and her stomach turned. She thought back to a time when she told Daryl she didn't believe they get to save people anymore. What she'd meant, really, was she didn't believe in happy endings in this world. Maybe it was too soon to change her mind about that, but this community was one step closer to happily ever after for so many people. Before she looked away Carol caught Jessie's eye and they shared a smile.

Before she could look around more a few words caught her attention, particularly when they were followed by a chorus of hoots and whistles, "You may now kiss your bride." Carol turned her attention back to the front and watched the young dark haired man kiss the beautiful ginger princess. Everyone got to their feet and cheered as Gabriel presented the new couple and they turned, hand in hand to face their friends. Carol felt the tears on her cheeks once again. This really was an amazing moment. Several months earlier if someone told her she would be attending a full, formal wedding, she would have thought they were crazy. But here she was, with Daryl beside her wearing a suit and all her friends and family, celebrating a new union. They had all pulled together to make this happen and it was absolutely perfect.

Dinner was delicious and the cake Jessie made was probably the best piece of cake Carol had ever tasted. We're in the middle of a zombie apocalypse and I'm eating the yummiest cake ever made, Carol thought with a smile, taking another big bite. They had gathered quite the selection of alcohol for the event and had found enough wine to leave a bottle on each table. Carol was on her second glass, while Daryl had skipped the wine and opted for Jack and coke. They had a lot of mix in storage, but Carol realized with the way the drinks were going down they wouldn't have much pop left after the wedding.

She didn't realize how buzzed Daryl was until he pulled her onto the dance floor for a slow song. He was talking, non-stop and it was highly amusing. "Do you think Rick is ever going to make his move?" Daryl muttered. Carol turned her head to see Rick dancing with Michonne.

"Isn't that kinda the pot calling the kettle black?" Carol teased him.

"Pfft," Daryl snorted. "You were… complicated… or something…"

Carol shook her head, "No I wasn't. I'm not. I'm pretty straight forward."

Daryl looked at her and stopped dancing. "I couldn't even win this argument sober, could I?" Carol shook her head. "Okay, you win…" he said, leaning in and kissing her softly on the lips. Carol knew her eyes were wide with shock that Daryl was kissing her in a very public moment. Eventually she relaxed, closed her eyes and enjoyed it. She could taste the whiskey he'd been drinking as their tongues met. The kiss was urgent and very erotic and Carol knew she needed to stop it before things went embarrassingly far.

She pulled back, breathless. It only took a second to realize there were way too many eyes on them. Carol ducked back into Daryl's embrace, hiding her blazing red face against his chest. She wondered if he was giving his usual look of death to all the people grinning at them and finally curiosity got the better of her. What the hell? Carol thought. Daryl wasn't even the least bit pink. Must be the alcohol, she decided.

Carol was just about to suggest they get out of there, head home and finish the kiss, see where it leads… when Rick and Michonne appeared. "Mind if I cut in?" Rick asked. Daryl gave him a slight glare, but shrugged and allowed Rick to take his spot, while he moved off to finish the song with Michonne. "You did all this," Rick said softly, glancing around at their surroundings.

"We all did it," Carol corrected him.

"Maybe, but you brought us all together," Rick persisted. "I'm taking complete credit for it all though. Since I was the one who nominated you for mayor," he teased.

"Nominated?" Carol laughed. "I really don't think you were taking no for an answer, even if I'd tried."

"You're probably right," Rick admitted. "But seriously, you're a great leader. People love you and respect you. You do what needs to be done. You keep them safe and protected."

"You did all that too," Carol replied gently. "Besides, it's easier here. We have walls."

"Would you just accept the compliment," Rick chuckled. "You're amazing Carol. And we are so lucky to have you."

Even though she really wanted to turn his words back on him, redirect the compliment like she always did Carol knew it was time to just accept it. She looked at Rick and smile, "Thank you."

The song was winding down. "Why don't you get out of here. Daryl looked like he was about to ravage you on the dance floor," Rick joked. Carol blushed. "I'm happy for you both," Rick added. Carol shifted her eyes to Daryl and Michonne and then back to Rick. She saw a look of understanding and it gave her hope that her friends might just move to the next level sometime very soon.

"You know… if you ever need someone to take Judith for the night…" Carol gave him a knowing look.

"Get out of here," Rick said, bumping her gently in Daryl's direction.

Ten minutes later they were entering a dark, empty house with the sounds of people having a really good time still audible off in the distance. "House to ourselves," Daryl commented, smirking at her. "Wanna get wild and crazy and do it on the kitchen table or living room floor or somethin'?"

"Just exactly how drunk are you?" Carol asked, folding her arms and eying him curiously as Daryl attempted to remove his shoes, almost falling over.

"Not gonna lie, I'm kinda ripped… but don't worry, it won't affect my performance," he assured her. "Ha, got ya you little bastard," Daryl said triumphantly after finally getting one shoe off. Carol shook her head and bent down to untie the second shoe so he could just slip it off. "Oh… you're so smart," he gushed, patting her head.

Carol stood up and rolled her eyes, "Come on." She took his arm and led him up the stairs to their room. "Maybe we should just sleep," Carol started, trying not to smile.

"What? Why? You ain't sersious?" Daryl sputtered.

Carol kicked off her heels and started to remove her jewelry. "Well you did say you're pretty drunk, I wouldn't want to take advantage of you." She bit her lip and waited for his response.

"Christ, I would give anything to be taken advantage of by you," he moaned. By the time she turned around he had somehow managed to get out of his jacket, pants, tie and socks and was standing there in a white dress shirt and batman boxers.

"Where on earth did you find those?" Carol giggled, pointing at his underwear.

Daryl looked down, "Oh some house we raided had a huge collection of superhero boxers. I wanted the wolverine ones but fucking Abe wouldn't give them up."

Carol laughed harder at the thought of Abraham in Wolverine boxers. "Who else has them?"

Daryl struggled to unbutton his shirt and looked like he was about to rip it off so she wandered over to help as he answered. "We all agreed to wear them for the wedding," he informed her. "Rick has Superman of course. Glenn…. Spiderman. And Eugene has these bright green ones – Incredible Hulk." Carol snorted and wondered if Jessie might see them later.

When she had all the buttons undone Carol reached inside and put her hands on Daryl's shoulders, then slowly ran her hands down his arms, pushing the shirt off, onto the floor. She turned so he could unzip her dress and in seconds it was a puddle at her feet. For the first time in a while Daryl was completely silent. Carol stood, her back still to him and waited. Her body exploded in goosebumps the second his hand touched her bare back. It was just a light brush of his fingertips, but her body was craving it so badly.

When she turned, the look in Daryl's eyes completely overwhelmed her. It was the look that every woman dreamed but only the lucky ones ever got. Ed never looked at her that way, even the rare times when things were good. And now that she had that look from Daryl, she was glad Ed hadn't. It made it more special – absolutely perfect.

The whole time they made love Carol completely forgot just how drunk he'd been because it seemed as if seeing her naked had somehow sobered him up completely. She wasn't taking advantage of him at all. Daryl was taking care of her, satisfying her needs, showing her how much he loved her and treating her like a Queen.

They looked into one another's eyes as he slowly eased into her. It was strange not to have long wisps of hair hanging in his eyes. No matter what he was incredibly handsome, but with the haircut he looked so different, so much younger and very sexy. It started off slow and gentle but before long things changed and got rather loud. Carol really didn't care who heard them, she simply lost herself in everything she was feeling and let go.

"Oh God," Daryl groaned later, when he lay down beside her. "Why is the fucking room moving?" He sat up. "Oh, that's better."

"You can't sleep like that," Carol teased him.

"I might be sleeping with my head in the toilet," Daryl whined.

"Oh my God, this is so weird…" Carol sighed.

"Huh?" Daryl asked, closing his eyes and rubbing his temples.

"Everything is so… normal," she explained. "Daryl, we went to a wedding today. We ate supper, drank and danced. You got drunk. We came home - to our house and had amazing sex. And now you're whining about puking… It's normal." Carol felt a sense of panic. "I don't know if I can do normal. I don't know how. Tell me how."

He groaned again and leaned back on his pillow, pulling her against his chest. "Do you remember the very first night we were here and you said, 'stay with me'?" Carol nodded. "I stayed because you wanted me to and I've never left. We're together and that's all that really matters."

"You're right," Carol agreed. "I just… it's just hard to let go of the need to prepare myself for more struggle."

"But you can now Carol," he whispered sleepily. "We finally have the chance to stop surviving and…" Daryl's voice trailed off and he yawned. When he spoke his final three words before he drifted off to sleep Carol was left with an overwhelming sense of calm. His statement was simple but it was their future: "We just live."

"We just live," Carol repeated in a whisper, looking at the man who made her want to live again, so long ago, after losing her daughter. She knew that no matter where they ended up, no matter how hard or how easy life became, no matter how many people they lost or gained… she could face anything with Daryl by her side. He was enough. He was everything.

_Oh Darlin' stay with me, cause you're all I need… _

The End!


End file.
